Sheriff-Mandela road project extended to October 31

The Sheriff Street to Mandela Avenue road project has been extended to October 31 after the August 4 deadline is no longer achievable.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar confirmed this during a telephone interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday.

He stated that a new objection was obtained from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which the project is being funded by at a tune of US$31 million, after requests were made by the contracted company, Sinohydro, for an extension.
When asked about the reason for the extension, the Minister stated that the rainfall the country has been experiencing is a main contributing factor.
“…you can’t do construction work in that environment,” he stated.
Apart from the uncontrollable weather, Minister Indar indicated that there is currently discussion with regards to the type of drain that is to be installed. He further noted that the Government wishes for it to be a concrete drain, rather than the initial design which is supposedly an “earthen drain”.
“That’s what we’re discussing… how we are going to deal with that,” he stated. “Remember it’s a highway so we don’t want it to have earthen drain…we don’t want that.”
The Minister explained that the initial design is being revisited so as to get the most suitable drains for the highway.
He also indicated that if there is an approval for the concrete drain, the overall project cost may surpass the initial amount.
The project, which covers approximately seven kilometres of road between Sheriff Street and Mandela Avenue, involves the relocation of utilities; the installation of lane and shoulder improvements; placement of sidewalks and paved shoulders; traffic signals, traffic signs, streetlights, drainage; a pedestrian overhead walkway; culverts, bridges, and a roundabout.
The project was launched in 2018 but faced many setbacks under the former APNU/AFC Administration.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had explained that when the PPP/C took office in August 2020, there was no work being done due to the COVID-19 pandemic and because of non-compliance with environmental standards which resulted in the IDB being forced to cease disbursements to the project.
The project was eventually restarted in September 2020 and the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Administration had anticipated an August 4, 2021 completion.