Corentyne River bridge: Guyana, Suriname to finalise financing this weekend

President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Surinamese counterpart, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, are expected to decide this weekend on the financing of the much-anticipated Corentyne River bridge, which would link the two neighbouring countries.
In a joint ministerial committee statement on Tuesday, it was stated that Suriname and Guyana met in Paramaribo to further elaborate on the financing modalities for the construction of the Corantijn/Corentyne River bridge. This meeting was held as part of the ongoing process to pursue this project initiated by President Santokhi and President Ali in November 2020.
“Both sides reiterated the importance of a fixed connection between the two countries, not only to advance economic opportunities and connect the road network between Guyana and Suriname and ultimately enhance hemispheric connectivity with Brazil and the rest of the South American continent, but also to facilitate people-to-people contacts. In this regard, both sides reiterated their commitment to a timely construction of the bridge,” the statement read.
According to the joint statement, a number of specific recommendations regarding construction, financing, and management, emanating from the ministerial meeting set out a clear time-bound framework to take this initiative to the next level.
Following these decisions, it is anticipated that construction could commence before the end of 2024.
These recommendations, it stated, will be submitted to the Presidents of Suriname and Guyana for further consideration and decision at their anticipated meeting this weekend in Guyana.
At the meeting on Tuesday in Paramaribo, Guyana was represented by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh; Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, along with technical staff.
Suriname was represented by 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.

Financing
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 that a decision has been taken to have the team of Ministers from Guyana and Suriname, who are collaborating on this project, meet with the technicians and come up with a final proposal on the way forward, to be presented to him and President Ali.
President Santokhi had said there were financial institutions that were willing to fund the construction of the bridge across the Corentyne River, which would serve as critical infrastructure for regional integration. 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,” 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.

Design
Then in June 2023, WSP Caribbean presented the design of the Corentyne River bridge to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and his Surinamese counterpart, Minister Nurmohamed, of a two-section structure that is connected via an island (Long Island) to link Guyana and Suriname. The design also features a two-lane bridge with accommodation for a third lane in case of an emergency.
It has been noted that this presentation by the WSP technical team was made ahead of the final report, which will detail other aspects of their study, such as the cost of the bridge, traffic projections, design of the road, financial and economic evaluation, and environmental assessment, among other key elements.
This information would have helped the pre-qualified bidders to prepare and submit their proposals.
Six international companies – five Chinese firms and one Dutch company from The Netherlands – had submitted bids for the construction of the Corentyne River bridge. The bids were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in Georgetown back in August 2023.
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.
Running from Moleson Creek to Long Island, the bridge would be a low-level structure, approximately one kilometre long, with a 2200-metre (2.2km) road across Long Island and a high bridge spanning 2100 metres (2.1km) thereafter.
The high end of the bridge would facilitate marine traffic and cater for 40,000 to 45,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacity featuring a vertical (height) clearance of 43 metres and a horizonal (width) clearance of about 100 metres.
Upon completion, the bridge would not only link the two neighbouring countries, but would also open up access to greater economic opportunities beyond them, into French Guiana and, through the road network being developed, into Brazil, and eventually further into South America.