President Ali inspects Buzz Bee Dam works, calls project cornerstone of new national highway link

• Project designed and supervised by Guyanese
• Lot One of the project is approximately 33 per cent 
• Mandela–Eccles corridor, the Heroes Highway and the future Ogle Highway will be connected through a large roundabout at Buzz Bee Dam

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali conducted an on-site inspection of ongoing infrastructure works at Buzz Bee Dam, East Bank Demerara, on Tuesday. He underscored the scale of engineering and planning underway to support Guyana’s rapid urban expansion and improve national connectivity.

During his visit, the president explained that the area, once swamp land, is now being transformed into a major transportation hub that will create a corridor linking the East Bank to the East Coast.

“The massive drainage structures have been placed on both sides of the road, both coming in and going all the way down the highway. What you’re seeing here is a full understanding of development and urban planning,” President Ali said.

He noted that the four-lane highway will connect the Mandela–Eccles corridor, the Heroes Highway and the future Ogle Highway through a large roundabout at Buzz Bee Dam, creating what will effectively be a third four-lane highway along the East Bank.

“This alignment goes back and interconnects with the Ogle Highway,” the president explained.

President Ali highlighted the extensive preparatory works required to construct the roadway, pointing out that contractors had to excavate up to five to six feet of swamp material in some areas before meticulously rebuilding the foundation.

“This shows you the magnitude and level of work that is needed to achieve the type of development and transformation you will see,” he said.

Intakab Indarjeet, Deputy Director of Projects at the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA), explained that the work included clearing land, digging soft material, backfilling with sand, installing vertical drains, using geotextile fabric, and adding layers of sand to help speed up settlement for long-term stability.

Indarjeet informed President Ali that Lot One of the project is approximately 33 per cent complete, with the overall development divided into eight lots. The four-lane highway will include medians, safety features, margin sealing and pull-off lanes, and will extend towards Land of Canaan.

President Ali acknowledged that land acquisition challenges initially slowed progress but said those issues have now been resolved.

“All the hurdles have been crossed now, and we are in full implementation phase,” he said.

The president further highlighted the integration of major transmission lines and drainage infrastructure into the project, noting that 28 major drainage structures will be constructed between Buzz Bee Dam and Land of Canaan to ensure effective drainage from the conservancy, backlands and residential areas.

“This is critical drainage. It’s very important to drain the backlands and also to drain residential communities,” President Ali said.

Looking ahead, the head of state explained that the highway is being designed to interconnect with the Linden–Soesdyke Highway, extend towards Timehri, link to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, and support the development of the new Silica City.

He added that several major housing developments along the Linden–Soesdyke corridor, comprising close to 2,500 new homes, will benefit directly from the improved transportation network.

“This is the level of effort and scale of effort needed for us to meet the housing demand in Region Four. A lot of this work happens behind the scenes, but this is what is required,” the president said.

The president emphasised that the highways are being constructed to strict international standards and are fully designed and supervised by Guyanese engineers.