$3B Supplementary funding approved for miscellaneous roads

Guyanese can expect accelerated infrastructural development in the 70 local authority areas across the country.

This comes on the heels of the approval of $3 billion supplementary funding in the National Assembly for the Ministry of Public Works’ miscellaneous roads programme.

The programme will see interventions in villages and communities countrywide to improve accessibility.

Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill, said the money will go towards rehabilitating roads that should have already been done to address the backlog of deplorable roads.

He said under the previous administration, only selected roads were done. However, under the PPP/C Government everyone will benefit.

“The government of Guyana, Mr. Chairman I can announce this today, wants to fix every road in every community and my mandate is to ensure that it happens,” Minister Edghill told the National Assembly.

He noted that, with the help of the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry, all the roads across the country were measured, mapped, designed with cost attached, and placed in what is being called “a Bible of roads”.

Minister Edghill told the National Assembly that it cost about $80 million to fix one kilometers of asphaltic concrete road.

The intention is to have all the roads listed, and fixed to benefit the people.

Members National Assembly were told that infrastructure development is ongoing across the length and breadth of Guyana. He said what is reported most times, is what is being executed in the capital city only.

“For example, in the Corentyne areas region six, we are literally taking people out of the mud by giving them footpaths to bring them out to the main road so that they would be able to get to school, work and the rest of it,” Minister Edghill said.

The minister explained that when the ministry executes road works in communities, they are all done at the same quality in every community. The only difference is that the works are awarded to different contractors.

Some $15.2 billion was approved in the 2022 national budget for the public works ministry’s miscellaneous roads programme.

The $3 billion in supplementary funding for miscellaneous roads forms part of the Ministry’s $4.19 billion supplementary budget.

A $44.8 billion financial paper has been presented to the National Assembly for supplementary funding, by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.