Ogle-to-Eccles highway to extend to New Demerara River Bridge for seamless commute

The Government officially commissioned the much-anticipated Ogle to Eccles bypass road on Monday afternoon, intended to cut travel time between the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara by more than half.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill announced that the road would be extended to the new Demerara River Bridge, providing seamless travel for persons travelling from the West of the Demerara River to other parts of the country.
According to the minister, the contractor, Ashoka Buildcon Limited, was already engaged to extend the road from Eccles to Providence on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

“At the same rates, we have engaged Ashoka Buildcon to continue this road to Providence, where it will connect with the new Demerara River Bridge, so there will be a seamless transfer when you come off the bridge at the roundabout that is being constructed right now on the Heroes Highway, you will continue for another 2km to get onto this and can continue along,” he explained.
The road, which cuts through former swamp lands to achieve this ambitious feat, was initially budgeted to be US$106.4 million but was increased to US$133.8M to accommodate bridges, drains, an elevated surface to mitigate flooding and an expansion of the road from two to four lanes for the entirety of the road.
However, Edghill disclosed that the increased sum is still lower than the US$275M budgeted by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government.
This development, he said, “speaks about two things, the value that the PPP/C government puts into project management ensuring value for money and ensuring the efficiency in the spending of public monies. We have delivered this project on time and under budget.”
Noting that the contract was awarded following the legal tender process, he extended gratitude to the contractor for their dedication to quality, something which he said is backed by praises from users of the road thus far.

Lauded
The minister handed over a certificate of appreciation to the contractor and the Indian company, RITES Limited, for their consultancy during the process.
Speaking about the services offered by the consultancy firm, Edghill noted that “the RITES was able to do what we benefitted from in terms of knowledge transfer. Our engineers who worked along with them could only be better because of how they worked with us.”
He also lauded residents, utility companies, the Ogle Airport Inc. and other stakeholders who have been affected during the construction phase of the project.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, indicated that the road was built using “one of the best” construction technologies in the world.
He noted that throughout the project, the Government worked with the contractors to source materials and overcome challenges faced.
Minister Indar urged drivers and other road users to work towards ensuring the road reaches its full potential. “The road, it belongs to Guyanese; we must treat it as our property; we should not park trucks and haulers on the side of the road causing it to damage; we should not speed on the road causing accidents, and we should not be malicious to go dig out the reflectors in the nights when no one is watching, we know ourselves,” he said.
According to Indar, the road, measuring 11.63 km, would enable drivers to travel from Ogle to Eccles in just six and a half minutes when there is a smooth flow of traffic.

The event was also addressed by the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. Amit S. Telang, who lauded the partnership between Guyana and India.
He noted that the relationship is “becoming deeper and stronger” as the developmental partnership between the two countries expand.
The road was completed with a Line of credit extended from the Indian EXIM bank. As such, it was monitored by both the Government in Guyana and India.
In a video message, External Affairs Minister of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, also lauded the partnership between the countries.
“This new infrastructure… reflects the aspirations of Guyanese people. It is also emblematic of the able leadership and vision of President [Dr. Mohamed Irfaan] Ali’s Government towards Guyana’s progress and prosperity,” he noted.
Mr. Jaishankar complimented the government’s people-centric, development-oriented, and forward-thinking approach to infrastructure development.
The Ogle to Eccles bypass commenced in June 2022 and is among several road projects currently underway across the country to ease traffic congestion and open up new land for residential and commercial purposes.
Also present at Monday’s commissioning was Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips, former President of Guyana Donald Ramotar and other Government Ministers.