Gov’t accelerating efforts to acquire private properties as construction of new Demerara River Bridge advances

The government is advancing efforts to acquire some 40 private properties that are located in Nandy Park and Continental Park on the East Bank Demerara, where the alignment of the major new US$260 million Demerara River Bridge will land.

As the construction of the new bridge is swiftly accelerating, the government through the Ministries of Legal Affairs, Housing and Water and Public Works is fast-tracking engagements with owners of these properties.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC made the disclosure Tuesday evening during his weekly televised programme ‘Issues in the News’.

“Our government has a clear and settled procedure by which it approaches this type of situation. We have done it many times before. We did it when we were doing the Berbice River Bridge … the process is that we engage the residents and the owners of the properties in a consultative exercise,” he stated.

While there is no disagreement by the property owners to relocate, the Attorney General noted that a consensus must be made on the value of the compensation that must be given to them.

They are being presented with several options for compensation including monetary, land only, house and land, house, land and monetary – dependent on the property value.

The AG emphasised, “At the end of the day, the government is doing everything possible to ensure that the process is not an antagonistic one and that the private property owner is satisfied that he has received market value and adequate compensation for his property that is being acquired for the public purpose of the construction of the bridge and those are the principles that are guiding the government’s interactions.”

Consultation exercises will continue, Minister Nandlall further related.

The multi-million new Demerara River Bridge has been on the cards for a long time and in 2022, a US$260 million contract was awarded to the Joint Venture of China Railway Construction Corporation (International) Limited, China Railway Construction (Caribbean) Co., Ltd and; China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

It is a hybrid bridge that will feature a modern four-lane structure, cycle lane, and driving surface of about 23.6 metres of 77.8 feet with a lifespan of about 100 years.

The new bridge is a critical component of the government’s drive to expand and modernise Guyana’s transport infrastructure and will address the challenges faced by users of the current bridge by providing safe, efficient, and effective crossing.

Upon completion, the traffic woes will be addressed significantly. It also births other economic opportunities for Regions Three and Four including agricultural development, tourism, construction, housing and commerce.

It will offer easy connectivity to both the existing East Bank Demerara Road as well as the new Diamond to Eccles bypass, the existing West Bank Demerara Road, and the new Parika to Schoonord Road.

The current Demerara Harbour Bridge is over 40 years old and connects the East Bank at Peters Hall with the West Bank at MeerZorgen, with an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 people and over 20,000 vehicles each day traversing.