New 4-lane highway: Eccles-Providence lot to be completed in 1 week

Lot 1 of the Eccles-to-Diamond four-lane highway – which stretches from Eccles to Providence on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) – is expected to be completed in one week and will be accessible to commuters during Cricket Carnival and the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) games which will be hosted at the Guyana National Stadium.
This was confirmed by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal during an interview with this publication on Friday. Minister Croal noted that the Government pushed to expedite the road works from Eccles-Providence, cognisant of the increase in traffic that would accompany the biggest party in sport in Guyana.
“Lot 1 will be accessible in time for CPL,” he assured, noting that the road itself should be “ready within a week”.

Contracts totalling $13.3 billion were in December 2021 awarded to twelve contractors for the Eccles-to-Diamond road, which is divided into 12 lots.
The Eccles-to-Providence stretch of the four-lane highway connects back to the $2.3 billion Eccles-to-Mandela road. The two-way functioning of this road is expected to resume when the Eccles-to-Providence lot is completed.
The Eccles-to-Mandela road currently only accommodates one lane of traffic during the respective rush hours in order to facilitate roadworks on the Eccles Dumpsite Road.
Meanwhile, works on the other lots in the Eccles-to-Diamond highway are ongoing, Minister Croal said. Notwithstanding, there remain some challenges with the Mocha-Herstelling lot whereby several squatters are yet to move to facilitate the construction works.
Moreover, works have already begun on the design of the thoroughfare from Diamond to Busbee Dam, Craig, EBD.
“So, there are two more lots that they’re doing a design for that will pass through Diamond and come out at Busbee Dam, Craig,” the Housing Minister noted.
Regarding the Eccles-Diamond four-lane highway, Lot 1 of the project is being undertaken by Guy-America Construction Inc for $1.2 billion; Lot 2 is being undertaken by V Dalip Enterprise for $889.9 million; Lot 3 is being done by Colin Talbot Contracting Services and Eron Lall Civil Engineering Works for $1.3 billion; Lot 4 is being done by KP Thomas and Sons Contracting for $1.4 billion; Lot 5 is being done by S Jagmohan Construction and General Supplies Inc for $1.2 billion; Lot 6 is being done by H Nauth and Sons for $1.1 billion; and Lot 7 is being done by JS Guyana Inc for $1.2 billion.
Meanwhile, Lot 8 is a joint venture by VALs Construction and AJM Enterprise for $1.1 billion; Lot 9 is being done by China Railway First Group for $1 billion; Lot 10 is being done by Aronoco Services Inc for $753 million; Lot 11 is being done by Ivor Allen for $825 million, and Puran Brothers Disposal is teaming up with Khemraj Nauth Contracting Services to complete Lot 12 at a cost of $964 million.
Already, the Housing Ministry has constructed an alternative road from Diamond Housing Scheme to Mocha, EBD, to divert traffic from the public road. That project was completed to the tune of $5 billion, and was opened last December in time for the Christmas holidays.
These projects run alongside the India-funded bypass road project which would link the East Bank Demerara corridor to the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), creating a new highway in the backlands.
The Indian Government had provided a US$50 million Line of Credit (LoC) for the road link that was initially slated for Ogle, ECD to Diamond. Under the previous Government, however, the project was at a standstill for several years.
Having taken office in 2020, the People’s Progressive Party Administration has since redesigned the project into three phases to fit the LoC. It will now run from Ogle to Haags Bosch at Eccles in the first phase, then from Eccles to Diamond, and finally from Diamond to Timehri to connect to the CJIA. However, the Indian LoC will only cover the first section of the road, that is, from Ogle to Eccles. (G11)