Evaluation of the Expressions of Interest (EoI) by companies to build the new Demerara Harbour Bridge continues, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill says and it is not yet clear when there will be a shortlist.
“They are with the evaluators. The submissions were voluminous so I am not be able to say how soon it would be completed,” Edghill told Stabroek News on Tuesday when contacted for an update.
In late September the government had advertised for EoIs for the prequalification process to design-build the new Demerara Harbour Bridge with available financing options. The notice for the EoI explained that the Ministry of Public Works wished to embark on the construction of a new four-lane, high-span fixed bridge in the vicinity of the current location and which terminates at Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara. “The new design of the Demerara Harbour Bridge will not require opening or retraction to allow for maritime traffic and will be built with a life span of at least 50 years,” it specified.
Previously, President Irfaan Ali had said that the new bridge would be a very high one standing at minimum 50 meters high or as high as or higher than the Marriott Hotel to facilitate the clearance for vessels.
The choice of Nandy Park to the east and Meer Zorgen/La Grange to the west for the new proposed Demerara River Bridge was done based on long-term infrastructural and economic development plans for residents on both sides of the Demerara River, Edghill had explained.
It was also one of the recommended locations of a feasibility study done by the previous APNU+AFC government.
Some 20 companies were found to have submitted EoIs when tenders were opened last month at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
Minister Ashni Singh, who has responsibility for the Finance Ministry, which in turn has oversight of NPTAB, had told those present at the tender opening that the day was a historic one as they had witnessed an unprecedented level of interest in the major infrastructural project.
