Two months after government announced that a contractor has been selected for the construction of the new Demerara Harbour Bridge, negotiations are still ongoing, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill said yesterday.
He explained that they have been working to ensure the best deal for the project is secured before they move to sign a contract. Discussions are centred on financial payment options, final design of the bridge, and delivery of work among others.
Asked if they are close to wrapping up negotiations, Edghill would only say talks are still ongoing but he hopes there will be a signing of the contract “soonest.”
China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) was selected as the company which will construct the $256.6 million bridge after cabinet’s no objection and an evaluation process by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. The company had tendered the lowest bid during the procurement process.
Stabroek News understands that during the evaluation of bids for the project, CSCEC scored highest for its submission of a bridge proposal that it will design, finance, and build. Guyana, it was explained by a source, would have to operate the crossing.
Government during the procurement process, had specified that the design should accommodate a two-lane dual (four-lane) carriageway, hybrid cable-stayed centre-span bridge with concrete box/T-beam girder approach bridge structures, and must include bridge collision protection, a navigation span to accommodate Handymax vessel navigation aids, lighting, signage, and all other ancillary works, an access road with a minimum of 50 meters up to abutments, toll-collection buildings and ancillary buildings on the West Bank of the Demerara River.
When completed, government wants 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,” the bidding document states.
Government has said that it may have to acquire those lands which fall into the path of the new location which terminates at Nandy Park on the east bank and La Grange on the west bank, but a decision on that matter has not yet been made.
Ali had said that the new bridge would be a very high one, standing at a minimum of 50 metres or as high as or higher than the Marriott Hotel, to facilitate the clearance for vessels.
Stabroek News understands that during the evaluation of bids for the project, CSCEC scored highest for its submission of a bridge that it will design, finance, and build. Guyana, it was explained by a source, would have to operate the crossing.
After the signing of the contract this year, the selected contractor will design and build the bridge, which has a two-year “non-negotiable” completion deadline.
There has been a major controversy over the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency not to require an Environmental Impact Assessment for the project. This decision has been appealed and the Environmental Assessment Board has to give a date on when it will come up for hearing. This issue is still to be addressed.
