$136.1B set aside for roads & bridges in 2023 Budget

Jan 18, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana has proposed an increase of $40.4B to continue its building and maintenance of the country’s roads and bridges. In 2022, Government expended $95.7B but this year’s budget as presented by Senior Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh is proposing $136.1B.

Minister Singh said that in 2022 an amount of $67.9B was expended to improve the country’s road connectivity across the ten administrative regions. Of this, $39.8B was expended under the miscellaneous, urban and hinterland roads programme for the construction, upgrading and rehabilitation of roads in several of the coastal and hinterland communities. He disclosed that $27.8 billion was spent on bridges in the country.

In 2022, the Government through the Ministry of Public Works had commenced works and preparatory works on several major transformative projects.

This year’s allocation would finance road projects such as the upgrading and widening the Corentyne Highway from Palmyra to Crabwood Creek. In 2022 budget, the Government had budgeted $8.3 billion for this project.

Minister Singh on Monday said that already contracts have been awarded for the widening of the structures along the carriageway to accommodate a four-lane highway and to relocate the utilities. An amount of $27.7 billion is allocated in Budget 2023 to advance these works on this road project.

Some $11.9 billion has budgeted to continue works on the first phase of the highway to link Linden to Lethem, as well as on the 45 concrete bridges along the route. In the 2022 budget the Government had budgeted $6B for the road and $4.1B for the bridges there. Already, through the Ministry of Public Works, contracts have been awarded for these projects.

Another transformative project that money has been put aside for, is the upgrade of the East Coast Railway embankment road into a four-lane highway from Sheriff Street to Orange Nassau and continuing to the Mahaica River bridge, continuation of the upgrade of the East Coast Highway from Belfield to Orange Nassau, and construction of a second bridge across the Hope Canal.

Minister Singh stated that financing has been secured, procurement has been advanced, surveys have commenced, and construction works will intensify in 2023. As such, in 2023 an amount of $16.6B is allocated to roll out these projects.

The Finance Minister said that as it relates to the upgrade of the East Bank Highway from Prospect to Timehri, preparatory works have started including the clearing of the right of way between Diamond and Good Success and the construction of an alternate bypass road through Diamond and Grove.

Kaieteur News had reported that financing was secured late last year, and according to the Minister Singh this year construction works will begin in 2023. Some $4.1B out of the budgeted amount for the sector will go towards this project.

Among the list, is the construction of the East Coast to East Bank Road linkage from Ogle to Eccles. A contract was awarded to an Indian firm last year for this project and according to Dr Singh, the project will be the first phase of a four-lane highway intended ultimately to link the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) and the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. In 2023, $10.3B has been allocated to get the project going.

With regard to the upgrading of the Linden-Soesdyke Highway which the Government had secured a US$120M Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) loan for, preparatory works have since commenced, and in 2023, some $5B has been budgeted for that project.

Meanwhile, other projects that the Minister listed which fall within the $136B budget are the development of the Parika to Goshen route and the Sand Hills to Makouria road link. For these projects, over $500M has been budgeted. Another $218M will be spent to continue the construction of the Ituni to Tacama road.

In the hinterland, the Minister shared that $3.4B was spent in 2022 on the upgrading of critical roads, with an additional $5B budgeted in 2023, for works in areas such as Moruca, Port Kaituma, Issano, North Pakaraimas and Butakari.

Dr. Singh said that $5.2B has been budgeted to advance the construction works on the New Demerara River Bridge. He said too that money will also go towards the construction of the Kurupukari River crossing bridge, the Wismar Bridge and the Corentyne River Bridge just to name a few.

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2023 budget, Dr. Ashni Singh, enior Minister of Finance, Government of Guyana, Ministry of Public Works

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