Int’l Road Federation Congress: Guyana’s road construction technique hailed as “pioneering success”

A presentation on the “Design and Construction of Rigid Pavement Highway in Guyana” by a team of engineers from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) during the 11th International Road Federation (IRF) Regional Caribbean Congress has been met with resounding success and the potential for more Caribbean nations to adopt their methods.
This annual congress, held from June 13 to 16 in Nassau, Bahamas, offered transportation professionals from across 30 countries and territories in the Region the opportunity to address common challenges, including road safety and climate resilience.
Led by CH&PA Director of Projects, Omar Narine, the team from Guyana was invited to participate in a technical session on transport infrastructure for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), during which they presented on the challenges of constructing a rigid pavement highway on a soft subgrade in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
According to a statement by the Housing and Water Ministry, the panel was impressed with Guyana’s use of rigid pavement designs over the more traditional forms of road construction, which, in an era of booming socioeconomic development, is a very feasible approach for the country.
According to the release, given the Government’s extensive building and infrastructure development agenda, involving the development of new housing schemes and the expansion of existing ones, the CH&PA and Housing Ministry personnel, after much research, planning, and designing, agreed to the use of rigid pavement highways, which has reportedly been successful thus far.
This rigid pavement method was first used during the construction of the Mandela Avenue to Eccles Highway, and is being used in the construction of the Meer Zorgen to Crane four-lane Highway in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
“Based on feedback from the conference and the Guyana delegation, the panel was quite hopeful that more Caribbean nations can adopt this methodology, given the success and benefits Guyana has achieved in terms of value for money, durability, and sustainability,” the Housing Ministry statement read.
Other CHPA team members present were Deputy Director of Projects, Intakab Indarjeet; Senior Design Engineer Marvin Marks, Senior Infrastructure Engineer Anthony Ragnauth, Senior Hinterland and Building Works Engineer Cy Rodrigues; and Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Manager Sunil Gopaul.