Less than a week after Cabinet gave its no objection to the $9.2 billion West Coast Road Project, a contract was yesterday signed and work is scheduled to begin shortly.
The project which will see the upgrading of the West Coast Demerara Road, and which is funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) was signed yesterday by Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn and BK International and Surrey Paving and Aggregate Company Ltd of Jamaica. It was given the greenlight by Cabinet last Tuesday.
According to Benn, the joint venture was given the task to execute the road work component of the Fourth Road Project which runs from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie. It encompasses approximately 30.7 kilometres of highway rehabilitation works; pavement rehabilitation, road widening for the separation of pedestrians and cyclists from motorized traffic, installation of traffic signs and road markings, provision of additional highway lights, replacement of the Groenveldt bridge, extension and repairs to culverts and the relocation of the utilities.
Ministry of Public Works’ Chief Works Offi-cer Geoffrey Vaughn related that the 36 months project commences 14 days after the signing of the document with contracts starting early in December and by January there will hopefully be full mobilization from the joint venture as project action will be physically executed.
A press release from the Ministry of Public Works yesterday stated that, the Government of Guyana and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) on February 25, 2013, inked a loan agreement and a grant agreement for US$34.2 million and US$200,000 respectively. These agreements will go towards this fourth road project which has an estimated total financing cost of US$46,789,000 and total base cost of this project is estimated at US$36,301,000.
The project has combined 6 components that are to be implemented which include road works, road safety awareness, capacity building, road works supervision, monitoring and evaluation and project management.
Contracts have also been signed and are currently being executed for the consultancy services that cover road works supervision, school road safety education programme and monitoring programme.
Yesterday Benn also made reference to the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project where he said some 93 per cent of the road is completed; sections 6A and 3 need laterite surfacing and the pontoon crossing at Butukari from section 2 to section 3 should be completed at the end of December. He also pointed out that they are finalizing a decision with respect to the Kuribrong crossing.
