(Jamaica Observer) Chinese construction firm China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has been lauded by the Government for completing the Rio Grande Bridge in St Margaret’s Bay, Portland, within budget and on time.
The much-anticipated structure was officially opened last Thursday, two years after work started to replace the previous bridge which collapsed during the passage of Hurricane Dennis in 2005.
CHEC is the contractor for a massive expansion of Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan Inter-national Airport, Timehri.
Speaking at last week’s function to officially open the facility, Transport Minister Dr Omar Davies said: “I say to the line-up of engineers and contractors before me, let us look at what others in the world are doing. It cannot be rocket science that they (the Chinese) were able to deliver the bridge on time and within budget,” Davies said.
He added further, “that has to be the norm for all projects in Jamaica”.
He noted that not only was the project not faced with any cost overruns, but Jamaican workers were able to learn from their Chinese counterparts through the transfer of knowledge. Meanwhile, the transport minister used the occasion to call on the private sector to assist in the funding of some small local infrastructural projects.
