Bids pour in for $9.5B contracts to build 5 new schools

…teaching quarters to also be built in Bartica, Eteringbang

Bids amounting to almost $10 billion in contracts have poured in for a number of schools and teaching quarters around the country, as part of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s drive to improve education delivery in previously underserved areas.

The schools that will be built, each of them in lots of one to six, are the estimated $1.9 billion Kopinang Secondary School (Region Eight), the $2.5 billion Hosororo Secondary School (Region One), the $2 billion Kwebanna Secondary School (Region One), the $2 billion Jawalla Secondary School (Region Seven) and the $978.6 million contract to construct a modern school building/complex to house 800 students, Tuschen West Bank Demerara.
Among the contractors who have submitted bids for individual lots are Industrial Fabrications Incorporated, Steve’s Construction Service, Singh and Son Construction, Supreme Contracting and Supplies, International Imports and Supplies, VG Group Guyana Incorporated, AS Construction, LG Global, Bree’s Enterprise and AS Construction.
Other contractors who submitted bids include Mohamed Sayaid Enterprise, Golden Goose Construction Service, DS Construction Service and Supplies, Gen X General Service and Supplies, Pacific Development Incorporated, Singh and Son Construction, Cummings Electrical Company, Zeco Group of Services Incorporated, K&S General Contractors Incorporated.
All told, these five schools will amount to an approximately $9.5 billion investment, based on the engineer’s estimates. However, this could be subject to change depending on the most responsive bidders selected. Meanwhile, Government will also be constructing and furnishing teachers’ living quarters in Bartica (Region Seven) and Eteringbang, also in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). The engineer’s estimate was $30 million for the former and $37.9 million for the latter.
Back in 2022, Education Minister Priya Manickchand had announced the impending construction of a number of schools including secondary schools at Turkeyen (East Coast of Demerara) and Orealla (East Berbice-Corentyne). And with the construction of new secondary schools across Guyana, Manickchand had said last year that universal secondary education will be a reality by 2025.
According to Minister Manickchand, the education system is now retaining more children in school, which is a good thing. However, she noted that this reality has placed some strain on space within schools.
She had said that the rebuilding of St Rose’s High School and North Ruimveldt Secondary School, the construction of Yarrowkabra Secondary School, Good Hope Secondary School on the East Coast and the expansion of other schools such as East Ruimveldt Secondary, Queen’s College and The Bishops’ High School will create more space to accommodate the growing number of learners. According to her, these developments will provide comfortable access to secondary education.
Further, she said, “We’re working really hard to achieve universal secondary education within this first term [in office] is up. So you will see two new schools going up in Region Three, one in Upper Mazaruni (Region Seven), one in Region One, the rebuilding of the North West Secondary School in Region One just to ensure we can bring in universal secondary education just as we were able to achieve universal primary education. So you are going to see universal secondary education before the end of 2025 and we will be very happy to do that.”
Progress has been made when it comes to rebuilding schools. Following an electrical fire last July that destroyed St George’s High School and displaced hundreds of students, the Education Ministry on Friday last signed six contracts amounting to $253.8 million for its reconstruction.
And the Thursday before, the Education Ministry signed over $668 million in contracts to rebuild Christ Church Secondary School, which was also gutted by a fire in January.
The Minister had also assured that soon, contracts will be signed to rebuild St Mary’s High School.
This, along with the reconstruction of North Ruimveldt Secondary School, St Rose’s High School, extensions at Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School, East Ruimveldt Secondary School and St Winefride’s Secondary School, will see the space issues in the Georgetown District being addressed.