West Dem. road extension in final stages – Project Manager

Dec 10, 2017 News

West Coast Demerara expansion road project is in its final stages

The West Coast Demerara road expansion project is in its final stages, with almost 98 % of the work complete. An official attached to the project confirmed Friday that the US$46.8M West Coast Demerara Project has been given a March 2018 deadline.

Kaieteur News understands that at present the widening of the public road is taking place at Vreed-en-Hoop.

According to Project Manager attached to local contractor BK International, Vyalje Persaud, the road works are concentrated at Vreed-en-Hoop area because the goal is to complete the extension there, before the busy holiday period begins.

“We have a new deadline, but the main focus at present is putting in the finishing touches like the markings on the roads.  We don’t want the work to collide with the Christmas traffic.”

Persaud admitted that there were challenges in the process of widening the West Coast Demerara Main Access Road. He noted that the inclement weather has been one factor that contributed to a holdup.

The expansion of the highway is being conducted at several villages along the West Coast including Vreed-en-Hoop, Anna Catherina, De Willem and Uitvlugt.

Since the commencement of the project in 2015, much scrutiny had followed, particularly about a foreign company’s involvement in the undertaking.

The Jamaica Construction Firm, Surrey Paving and Aggregate Company (SPA) Limited, for the first time, had tendered and won a contract for a project in Guyana. The company subsequently formed a joint venture with local construction company, BK International.

BK International on the other hand, was not qualified to carry out the works by itself thus, the joint venture enabled the company to take part in the project. Together, both companies qualified for a specific component of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)-funded Project.

Former Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, under whose tenure the project received the green light, had explained in 2014, that the Government of the Guyana and Caribbean Development Bank on February 25, 2013, signed a Loan Agreement and a Grant Agreement totalling US$34,2M and US$200,000 respectively.

The component entailed the improvement of approximately 30.7 km of the West Coast Demerara Road from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie. It included pavement rehabilitation, road widening for the separation of pedestrians and cyclists from motorised traffic, installation of traffic signs and road markings, provision of additional highway lights, extension and repairs to culverts and relocation of the utilities.