East Coast Highway expansion to extend to Hope, then to Rosignol – Min. Patterson

─ all lights in Ann’s Grove to be fully operational soon

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, July 3, 2019

In his remarks at a high-spirited meeting on Wednesday, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson was unwavering in his commitment to the development of the East Coast of Demerara (ECD). Residents, he said, will benefit from the extension of the East Coast Highway.

Breaking the news, Minister Patterson said: “I took the decision last week to that I will bring it all the way up to Hope bridge. So, we are going to widening the lane all the way up to double lanes.”

During the community engagement in Ann’s Grove lead by Ministers of Government, 130 persons showed up at Ann’s Grove Secondary School to present their issues and concerns to the ministers.

Residents of Ann’s Grove were also briefed on the further extension of the East Coast Highway. Leading into this discussion, Minister Patterson noted:

“Nothing should pass Ann’s Grove-Clonbrook area. The roads are [to be] the same as the rest of the East Coast.” To this end, the Public Infrastructure Minister mentioned, “In January of this year, we signed a grant agreement with the government of Kuwait to start the design of the [road] upgrade from Hope bridge, all the way to Rosignol.”

With respect to community lights, he firmly stated, “just this afternoon I passed an instruction that street lights must be lit in Ann’s Grove. That will be done in just 6-8 weeks.” This comment was met with widespread excitement from the villagers at the meeting.

Moreover, it was not all pomp and circumstance as Minister Patterson was honest with the work and progress the Public Infrastructure Ministry has made and the work that lies ahead.

“While we have done some work, we still have a lot of work to do,” he earnestly remarked.

Nevertheless, quieting critics who may try to stymie the work of the Coalition Government, Minister Patterson pronounced:

“I intend to spend every penny [provided in the budget] for the betterment of my people, including Ann’s Grove.”

Ann’s Grove is a vibrant community on the East Coast of Demerara, located between Two Friends and Clonbrook villages. Situated 20 miles east of Georgetown, Ann’s Grove main economic activity is agriculture. Similar community meetings were also held in Beterverwagting, Plaisance, Golden Grove and Enmore.

Images: Giovanni Gajie