Construction on Linden to Lethem road to start in 2021 – Minister

The long-awaited Linden to Lethem road, funding for which was put on pause by the British Government owing to the recently-concluded political upheaval in Guyana, is likely to see work beginning as early as 2021.

This was revealed by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill in a recent interview with Guyana Times. He explained that the Government was currently working out the funding details for the Linden to Lethem road with the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF).
According to Edghill, he also has an upcoming meeting with the British High Commission.
In addition, the Government is engaging technical experts at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and it is quite possible that construction can start next year.
“We are working with the UKCIF. We’re engaging the CDB, the technical experts there. Because the pot of money that is available from the UKCIF, our preference is to use that money to deliver the Linden-to-Mabura road – US$150 million.
“We have to conclude the discussion and agree on some small principles that are still to be worked out. But, definitely, it’s going to be in the 2021 agenda – actual construction,” Edghill further explained.
The Linden to Lethem road, a key link between Guyana and Brazil with the potential to boost trade, is at present little more than an unsurfaced trail that deteriorates in rainfall. As such, the UKCIF programme, administered through the CDB, will be providing funding for the first phase of the road from Linden to Mabura Hill, as well as a crossing at Kurupaukari.

The fund has in fact allocated a total of £53.2 million to Guyana to fund several projects, including the road. With the 2018 no-confidence motion and the former Government’s delay in calling elections, however, these developmental projects were put on pause.
Then British High Commissioner Greg Quinn had said last September that no decision had been taken on continuing funding for the road, as well as funding for the Kingston-Ogle seawall project, another UKCIF-funded project.

Flurry of development
If construction starts on the Linden to Lethem road next year, it will join a number of other projects that the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) plans to begin work on in 2021 in what President Dr Irfaan Ali has described as a flurry of development.
One such project is the Ogle-Diamond bypass road. The upcoming construction of the bypass road, which will see 26 kilometres of road constructed to link two of the country’s main thoroughfares, has progressed to the point where the project is likely to be awarded by this year end.
This new road link will also be connected to key communities in Georgetown and along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD). These include Diamond, Mocha and Eccles – all on the East Bank – and Aubrey Barker Road in Georgetown. These connections will prove crucial in diverting traffic.
The new Demerara River crossing is another critical project for which work is likely to begin next year. Already, invitations for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) have been issued by the Government for the construction of the new crossing. The Government has also set itself a timetable of three to four years to complete the bridge.
On Saturday last, President Ali undertook a site visit of two locations associated with the project, one in the vicinity of Windsor Estates and the other at Peters Hall, EBD. Peters Hall is the proposed landing site for the eastern end of the bridge, with a road to be laid from the bridge and through Nandy Park.
Another potential project on the cards is a bridge across the Corentyne River. For some time, a bridge linking Guyana and Suriname has been teased, with the former PPP/C Government entering discussions with Suriname on the project.
Following the change of government in 2015, however, talks on the project petered out. President Ali is optimistic that now that the PPP/C is back in the driving seat, negotiations on the bridge will be advanced and the two countries can move forward with the project. (G3)