$1.45B Aubrey Barker Road expansion to proceed in phases amid delay

Construction on the $1.45 billion Aubrey Barker Road four-lane expansion project will be completed in phases as the government accelerates the delayed work. The project started in August, 2022 and was expected to be completed and delivered in July 2023. The contract was awarded to Surrey Paving Aggregate Company Caribbean Limited.

However, amid delays faced in the completion of the project, the Public Works Ministry had sent out tenders in February 2024 for the continuation of the 1.3-kilometre road, which will be expanded to four lanes.
The contractors for this aspect of the project have since been identified and works are ongoing. The works include the build out of drains to address the issue of flooding which severely affect the community when it rains.
According to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, paving for the stretch of road will be completed by the end of next week while remaining structures will be delivered afterwards.
“This section that is unpaved should be completely paved by the end of next week. Surrey Paving Aggregate Company Caribbean Limited (contractor) have another 20 metres to complete, so the instructions are that by next week the 1 kilometre would be completed. We have since awarded two other lots to R&B and Premium Asphalt which would be 650 meters each. So, within this present programme we’re going to be going down all the way to 2.3 kilometres,” the Public Works Minister said.
Edghill explained that while the road expansion project started at Aubrey Barker, plans are afoot to rehabilitate and widen the Main Access Road throughout South Ruimveldt.
He said this undertaking will cater for the buildup of traffic from Mandela Avenue that needs to access South Ruimveldt and Roxanne Burnham Gardens.
“We intend to continue to push this road all the way up but we’re doing it in phrases. The problems that we would have encountered included the water levels and that’s nothing new really but we would have thought that with the fill that we put in and the design that we would be able to overcome this… We would like to do a lot more work in the internal areas of South but because of the water we can’t put asphalt in that environment,” he added.

Challenges
The Aubrey Barker Road four-lane expansion project has experienced its fair share of interruptions causing stagnation.
Challenges range from the improper placement of utility poles, flooding due to constant rainfall and procurement issues, among others.
In regard to the removal of the utility pole, the Public Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guyana Water Inc. (GWI); GTT; Digicel; Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and National Data Management Authority (NDMA) which states that all the utility providers, as of January 2024, in conjunction with the Public Works Ministry, will be operating to ensure that no one entity prevents another partner from working.
At the time Edghill urged all utility companies to adhere to the MoU to the benefit of the residents of these communities who rely on these important pieces of infrastructure. (Trichell Sobers)