Corentyne River Bridge: Guyana, Suriname to advance talks on financing, operational modalities

…to start supervisory tendering process, drafting of Joint Agreement

The Joint Ministerial Team from Guyana and Suriname have been directed to advance talks on the financing and operational modalities of the highly-anticipated Corentyne River Bridge.
This instruction was given by President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Surinamese counterpart, President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, during a meeting on Saturday at Soesdyke, Guyana.
Accompanied by their respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Public Works, the two Heads of State met for follow-up discussions on the bridge over the Corantijn/Corentyne River – a project that has been in the works since November 2020 after being initiated by the two Presidents.
The Joint Ministerial Team has been, over the past months, engaged in intensive consultations regarding the technical and financial aspects of this initiative. Following this process of internal and bilateral consultations between Guyana and Suriname and the recommendations received, careful consideration was given to the proposed way forward, taking into account political, domestic and international elements as well.
In a Joint Statement following the high-level meeting, it was noted that “the Presidents instructed the responsible team of Ministers to enter the next stage of this project by engaging in discussions in relation to terms of pricing, technical aspects, financing and operational modalities with the shared objective of optimising on affordability and concessionality. Experts of both countries will also jointly work towards a political and legal framework, start the supervisory tendering process, and drafting of the agreement regarding the ultimate board that will jointly manage the bridge”.
According to the missive, which was issued on Sunday, clear timelines for finalisation of these activities have been set. In addition, the six-member ministerial team will continue their work to lead these negotiations and data gathering, as well as monitor the progress and report regularly to the Heads of State of both Governments.
Presidents Ali and Santokhi have agreed to convene the Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation Platform (SDCP) in early May 2024 to broaden the consultations to include other pending relevant areas of strategic importance on the agenda between the two countries.

Reaffirmed importance
Meanwhile, during Saturday’s strategic dialogue, both Presidents reaffirmed the importance of this fixed connection between their neighbouring countries in the broader context of South American connectivity, as part of the overall objective of regional integration and trilateral cooperation between Suriname, Guyana, and Brazil.
Presidents Santokhi and Ali welcomed the expressions of satisfaction by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during the recently-held trilateral summit in Guyana last month with regard to the earmarked bridge over the Corentyne River.
From a bilateral perspective, the Presidents of Suriname and Guyana acknowledged the importance of the historical and friendly relations between the peoples and Governments of both countries. It was further recognised that at the current time, both countries stand on the verge of becoming major players in terms of energy and food security in this region.
The building of the fixed connection between the two neighbouring nations will undoubtedly enhance the flow of people, strengthen agricultural cooperation, facilitate trade and investment and promote tourism, thereby adding in a diversified way to the economic growth that is expected to provide sustainable prosperity to both the Surinamese and Guyanese populations.
In a previous joint statement last week, it was noted that as discussions progressed, construction of the bridge could commence before the end of 2024. This was following a meeting last Tuesday in Paramaribo, where Guyana’s Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh; Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, along with technical staff engaged with Surinamese Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation Minister Albert Ramdin; Finance and Planning Minister Kermechend Raghoebarsing; Public Works Minister Riad Nurmohamed, and their technical teams.

In October 2023, two companies – Dutch engineering company Ballast Nedam and Chinese-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) – submitted proposals to build the bridge over the Corentyne River to link Guyana and Suriname. However, those companies have since indicated that they are unable to meet the pre-financing requirement.
Earlier this month, President Santokhi during an interview with Guyana Times on the sidelines of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government Conference, held in Georgetown, had said there were financial institutions that were willing to fund the construction of the bridge. He noted that informal discussions were held with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which has indicated an interest in financing the project.
“The companies should come with prefinancing, but they are not interested in that modality, so we’re looking for other types of financing. There are institutions from the region and outside the region who are willing to finance it. It can either be [through] the company, or it can be the State; but, you know, our case is a little bit different, because we are bound by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) programme, so we cannot take the loan. So, we need to be very pragmatic in this, so that is the advice that we’re looking for [from the Joint Ministerial and technical teams],” the Surinamese Head of State had said.

The Corentyne River bridge is one of the first agreements between Presidents Ali and Santokhi, with both Heads previously underscoring the critical role the bridge would play in advancing cooperation and creating more opportunities for development for both countries.
In May of 2022, a US$2 million contract was signed in Paramaribo for several preliminary studies and research to be conducted on the Corentyne bridge by WSP Caribbean. The Expressions of Interest (EoIs) were also simultaneously launched.
Then in June 2023, WSP Caribbean presented the design of a two-section bridge across the Corentyne River that is connected via an island (Long Island) to link Guyana and Suriname. The design also features a two-lane structure with accommodation for a third lane in case of emergencies.
The high-span Corentyne River bridge would be approximately 3.1 kilometres in length, and would connect Moleson Creek in Guyana to South Drain in Suriname, with a landing on Long Island in the Corentyne River, where a commercial hub and tourist destination would be established. That free zone would see major infrastructural development, such as hotels, recreational parks, entertainment spots, tourist attractions, malls, and farmers’ markets. (G8)