$67M approved for preparatory works, consultancy services of EBD to ECD bypass road

─ new design to accommodate a double lane carriageway

By Synieka Thorne

DPI, Guyana, Thursday, May 23, 2019

The National Assembly on Thursday, approved $67M to start preparatory works and consultancy services for the new design of the East Bank to East Coast Demerara road project.

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson explained that the sum caters for a new design for the road project. The new design will accommodate a double lane carriageway.

“The draft final design has been completed and is being reviewed by the ministry, and, of course, the project is of a bigger scale than was previously envisage. What was previously envisage was a single road linking house lots at the back of the housing development,” Minister Patterson explained.

Additionally, the minister told the National Assembly that the sum also covers additional costs associated with the draining of a 30-acre swampy area along the proposed alignment.

“The surveyors would have walked the entire length all the way from the east coast all the way past Diamond and Grove and they encountered swampy sections… so, its to drain it, so by the time we start construction of the road, that area will be ready to have the road.”

The project is estimated to cost $21.5Billion (US$104M) through a Government of Guyana and Government of India agreement.

The funding is a supplementary provision to the 2019 budget for which $2.2

Billion was already allocated in the budget.

Once the project is completed, it will significantly reduce the heavy vehicular traffic along the EBD and ECD corridors.