Corentyne River Bridge: Guyana, Suriname to iron out outstanding legal, technical & financial matters

Guyana and Suriname have reiterated their commitment to advance with the highly-anticipated Corentyne River Bridge, which will link the two South American neighbours, by addressing key issues including technical and financial matters.
President Dr Irfaan Ali travelled to Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname, on Saturday where he met with his counterpart, Her Excellency Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, to discuss a number of areas that will further strengthen economic and bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Recognising the potential for trade, tourism, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, the two leaders pledged to have the timely advancement of this transformative project.

Speaking at a joint press conference following the meeting on Saturday, President Ali revealed, “Madam President and I have expressed commitment from both Governments in having this signature project completed… We have agreed to have a specific coordinating group look at addressing all outstanding issues, technical, financial and legal issues, so that we can advance this project in an efficient manner.”
Meanwhile, President Geerlings-Simons noted that since 2010, Suriname had indicated its interest in bridging the Corentyne River, which is largely the territory of the Dutch nation, to connect the two neighbouring countries.
She pointed out that once the various technical, financial and legal matters are sorted out, works will be fast-tracked to implement this significant infrastructure project that will be key for further connections into South America and the Amazon region. The high-span Corentyne River bridge will run approximately 3.1 kilometres (km), connecting 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 will be established. That free zone will see major infrastructural development such as hotels, recreational parks, entertainment spots, tourist attractions, malls and farmers’ markets. This bridge project is one of the first agreements that was signed between President Ali and former Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi in their August 2020 cooperation pact. At the time, both leaders had underscored the critical role the bridge across the Corentyne River would play in advancing cooperation, creating more opportunities for development for the two nations. Meanwhile, both Guyana and Suriname have since settled on Chinese construction company, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), as the preferred contractor to build the new bridge.

However, it is unclear whether the contract has been signed.
Back in October 2024, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had told Guyana Times that the contract between the contractor and the two countries would be signed as soon as the financing mechanism for the bridge is sorted out.
Both Guyana and Suriname had written the Government of China for financing of the bridge project. Guyana Times was previously told by a senior Guyana Government official that the Chinese Government is willing to fund the project given its close bilateral relations with both Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States. However, the issue lies in Suriname’s economic situation. As part of its economic recovery programme, the Surinamese Government signed a structural adjustment programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to restore its macroeconomic stability. But this programme makes it difficult for the Dutch-speaking country to take out loans, hence the snag in the process of securing financing for the bridge project. Both Guyana and Suriname are meant to share the cost of the bridge construction in a 50-50 arrangement.
In February 2024, former President Santokhi had admitted to the challenges his country faces when it comes to securing the financing for the Corentyne River Bridge project. “You know, our case is little bit different because we are bind by the IMF Fund programme so we cannot take the loan. So, we need to be very pragmatic in this,” the Surinamese President had told reporters in February 2024 on the sidelines of the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in Georgetown.
Nevertheless, only last weekend, President Ali, during his inauguration speech after being sworn-in for a second term as Guyana’s ninth Executive President having been re-elected at the September 1 General and Regional Elections here, declared that in the next six weeks, planning and preparation will begin on the bridge across the Corentyne River with Suriname. The Guyanese leader subsequently met with Suriname’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melvin Bouva, at State House last Monday, to advance talks on development initiatives between the two countries.
Those discussions focused on Guyana’s commitment to the Corentyne River Bridge project, collaboration with Suriname to resolve issues affecting fisherfolk, improving the efficiency of the Guyana–Suriname ferry system, and exploring joint investment opportunities.