Work on the USM bypass road from Ogle, East Coast Demerara to Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara is expected to get underway once the services of a Project Monitoring Consultant (PMC) have been procured.
Indian High Commissioner, Venkatachalam Mahalingam, during a press conference held at his office on Thursday, made this disclosure.
Indian High Commissioner Venkatachalam Mahalingam
Export-Import Bank of India, which is providing the loan, had made provision for a consultant in its loan agreement. “We have signed an LoC (Letter of Credit) with Guyana for the $50M road project between Ogle and Diamond. We are in the process of identifying the project monitoring consultancy agency; and then, once that is done, there will be a probing of tender and then the road will be built,” the High Commissioner explained.
“The timeframe to appoint a PMC should be in a few months. Companies from India have already applied,” the High Commissioner said.
Mahalingam noted there had been optimism that work would get underway before the end of 2017.
It is understood that the loan agreement stipulates that the contractor must come from India. Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, had previously provided assurances that the agreement would allow for the creation of local jobs. He had stated that it would also see services being provided by locals in areas ranging from sub-contracting for the building of the road to providing labour.
At present, there is only one major thoroughfare connecting the East Bank Demerara to Georgetown. During peak periods, commuters find themselves in massive traffic congestion on the East Bank Demerara road. The new roadway would also complement communities on the East Bank of Demerara, including Perseverance, Mocha, Providence, Eccles, Peter’s Hall and the North/South Ruimveldt communities. It is also expected that the bypass, conventionalized under the previous Administration, would provide an ease in the city, as commuters can use the bypass to navigate the outer limits of the city, reducing travel time and avoiding the traffic jams.
Pumps
Mahalingam has also spoken of a US$4M agreement administered under the Ministry of Agriculture’s National Drainage and Irrigation Agency (NDIA) to provide mobile pumps. “In February, Guyana and India signed an agreement for US$4M to buy mobile pumps. And companies have already (displayed interest) in participating in this tender. Once they do that, it will be the same (process of putting out) the tender, and the process will take some time. Once the tender process is completed, and depending on who’s selected, the company will supply the pumps,” he said.
Ocean-Going Ferry
He noted that there is also collaboration between the two governments for the provision of an ocean-going ferry. “The LOC has been signed. That is for US$18M — US$10M for the LoC and US$8M as a grant. Exim bank is looking at it,” Mahalingam explained.
