The Inter-American Development Bank yesterday approved a US$24.8m ($5.7b) credit line to improve roads here, thereby cutting transportation costs and travel time while increasing safety and accessibility to key residential and agricultural areas.
The IDB funds will support government’s Road Improvement and Rehabilitation Programme which focuses on rehabilitating 30 kilometres of roads, enhancing mobility within the Georgetown metropolitan area and making nearby communities more accessible to markets and services in suburban and rural districts, the IDB stated in a news release.
Specifically, the programme seeks to improve the East and West Canje Roads and the urban arterial network in Georgetown, the access road to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri from the East Bank Road and localized interventions on the East Bank between the national cricket stadium and residential areas at Diamond and Grove.
It will also rehabilitate and repave the 7-kilometre long Sheriff Street–Mandela Road in Georgetown while the 3.5-kilometre airport access road will also be repaved and roadside amenities will be added at key locations to enhance safety.
The release also noted that road accidents and vehicle travel time and operation costs are expected to be reduced by an average 20 percent in the area covered by this programme.
The credit line consists of a US$12.4 million loan from the IDB’s ordinary capital for a 30-year term, including a 5-1/2-year grace period, at a LIBOR-based variable interest rate, and a US$12.4 million credit from the IDB’s Concessional Fund for Special Operations for a 40-year term with 40 years of grace at 0.25% interest.