Contract for Linden to Mabura road to be signed soon

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh has announced that the signing of the contract to commence the construction of the US$190 million Linden to Mabura road will be conducted within the next month.

Minister Singh made the announcement during an outreach to several communities in Region Nine over the weekend. He was accompanied by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, M.P.

“Within the short space of just about another few weeks, you will read news of the conclusion of award and signing of a major contract, one of the biggest projects ever embarked on in our country, the Linden to Mabura road,” Dr. Singh told the residents.

The project is being implemented by the Government of Guyana, with support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The project also received financial support from the Government of the United Kingdom, through a grant provided under the Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund.

“It is in fact, the largest project ever implemented by the CDB and it is one of our largest projects and it represents the first phase of what will be the Linden to Lethem road,” Minister Singh said.

The new road will be in addition to the 32 bridges slated for construction from Kurupukari to Lethem, at a cost of $4 billion.  The tendering process for that project is at an advanced stage, Dr. Singh noted.

“It means that immediately, connectivity will be improved once the bridges are completed. Once construction starts, jobs will be created and economic activity will be generated for all of the communities along the alignment of that road,’ the minister said.

Once the road and bridges are completed, the government will move to complete the construction of the entire Linden to Lethem road which will improve connectivity between Georgetown and Region Nine.

Last year, Guyana had a public international tender process for the project and received bids from a number of international companies. The bids were then evaluated by a Guyanese evaluation team that forwarded recommendations to the CDB.

Last month, CDB issued its no objection for negotiations to commence with the most responsive bidder, Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A from Brazil for the award of the Linden to Mabura Hill upgrade project.