the rush to install the ANSA McAL-sponsored arch at the head of the UG Access Road, in time for an event the Trinidad-based company is hosting on Saturday, caused commuters travelling along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) on Thursday morning, and to some extent evening, to be left stuck in heavy traffic for hours.
Works being done on Thursday morning to install the arch on the East Coast Highway
This sparked widespread public outrage, thus forcing officials from the Public Infrastructure Ministry to cease works during the day and resume in the evening.
A release during the course of Thursday from the Department of Public Information (DPI) explained that the fabricator of the arch was late in their delivery; hence, the installation was done on Thursday and not last weekend as was originally scheduled.
It was further noted that the sponsor of the structure, ANSA McAL Limited, wanted the arch to be installed in time for an upcoming event this weekend.
“A local company is funding the arch… The company has an event on Saturday, May 13th, and is keen to have the arch installed for the event,” the release stated.
While the DPI did not name the company, it was publicly known that the Trinidad-based company is the sponsor of the structure, which reportedly cost some $19 million. In fact, the company had even issued a map of alternate routes for motorists to take during the time a section of the ECD Highway was closed off for the structure to be installed.
Moreover, this is the same company that came in for scrutiny after it was revealed back in March that it was given a $605 million contract by Government to supply “emergency” drugs and other medical supplies to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence was heavily criticised for not going to tender with the contract.
Nevertheless, the DPI went on to say in the missive that Government regretted the inconvenience caused to commuters and assured that “…every effort will be made to minimise the disruptions to traffic as the arch is installed”.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Public Infrastructure Ministry on Thursday noted that the installation works resumed at 18:00h – which effectively closed off the area between UG Access Road and the Ogle Access Road.
Furthermore, the Ministry pointed out that it had considered doing the works in the night to avoid a situation such as the one that prevailed on Thursday, but “there was an issue of safety for motorists and the installation contractors during installation”.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) had issued an advisory late Wednesday evening, informing the public that the ECD Highway between UG Access Road and Ogle Access Road will be closed to vehicular traffic between 08:00h and 21:00h to facilitate the installation of an arch at the eastern entrance to Georgetown.
However, persons criticised the management of the project, saying that adequate notice was not given to the public, so many did not know of the ongoing works until they ended up in the midst of the congestion.
<<<Guyana Times>>> understands that commuters travelling on the East Coast were stuck in traffic for as long as four hours in some cases. Many took to social media to vent their anger about the poor management and ill-conceived execution of the project, opining that it should not have been done during peak hours.
Among the comments posted on Facebook was: “Having been given a sole-sourced contract for $605 million to supply pharmaceutical drugs to the Ministry of Health, is this $19 million Independence Arch on the East Coast ANSA McAL’s way of saying thanks to the Government of Guyana?”
Other comments about the structure included: “Guyana is still de bess. Arch and de cost of living going up.”; “How Guyana benefiting from this (arch)”; “Guyana have so much pressing needs and government busy building a senseless arch… People already punishing and can’t reach to work.”; “Ah wonder if these Arch will provide jobs for Guyana?”
Furthermore, this newspaper was made to understand that as a result of the works, a few persons missed their flights at the Eugene F Correia International Airport as well as the ferry to neighbouring Suriname. There were also reports of students who missed the sitting of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations as a result of being stuck in traffic.
The arch at the UG Access Road in Turkeyen will demarcate the eastern entrance into Georgetown, and highlighting Greater Georgetown to the northern end. A similar arch was installed on the East Bank Highway at Agricola, Greater Georgetown, last year. It was donated by Banks DIH Limited and was a gift for Guyana’s 50th Independence anniversary.
