March 2025 completion on track for $11B Diamond to Buzz Bee Dam Road

Works are progressing steadily on the highly anticipated four-lane highway stretching from Diamond to Buzz Bee Dam, East Bank Demerara (EBD), with an official deadline set for March 24, 2025.
President Dr Irfaan Ali inspected the ongoing construction on Thursday, as efforts ramp up to complete the third phase of the Government’s massive road expansion initiative. According to the contractor, 61 per cent of the project is already completed, with drainage works reaching 80 per cent completion, while road works on both the northern and southern carriageways are currently at 36 percent. To meet the deadline, night works have also commenced.
The head of state has warned the contractor against not complying with the stipulated deadline and contractual specifications.
“We’ve got to make sure that by March 31st, that’s the Buzz Bee Dam section is complete because there’s no extension here. We have to get this completed and you can’t have the contractors going to the Land of Canaan, they can’t be breaking up that access,” the Guyanese Leader said.

The Diamond to Buzz Bee Dam four-lane highway is a key infrastructural project aimed at easing traffic congestion along the East Bank corridor. Contracts worth nearly $11 billion were signed for the development, which includes 4.6 kilometers of asphaltic concrete roads. The project is divided into five lots, with different contractors responsible for each section.
This initiative forms part of a broader road expansion plan spearheaded by the Dr. Irfaan Ali-led Government. The first phase of this effort was the $2.6 billion Mandela-to-Eccles Road, which commenced in April 2021 and was commissioned in April 2022.
The second phase extended the four-lane road beyond Eccles to Great Diamond at a cost of $13.3 billion, involving 12 contractors. This section, recently commissioned as ‘Heroes Highway’ in honour of five Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officers who perished in a helicopter crash, now provides a vital link between Eccles and Great Diamond.
Connectivity
The new Diamond to Buzz Bee Dam project will further enhance connectivity, particularly for commuters traveling to and from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and West Demerara. It also complements the India-funded bypass road project, which aims to connect the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara through a new highway running through the backlands.
The Indian Government previously allocated a US$50 million Line of Credit (LoC) for the bypass road, initially planned to run from Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD), to Diamond. However, under the previous administration, the project stagnated for several years.
Upon assuming office in August 2020, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government redesigned the initiative into three phases: Ogle to Haags Bosch (Eccles), Eccles to Diamond, and Diamond to Timehri, with the first phase covered under the Indian LoC.
In Budget 2025, an allocation of $197 million has been set aside in retention payments for contracts apart of the project. (G1)