A contract for the construction of the road link between Eccles, East Bank Demerara, and Ogle, East Coast Demerara, will soon be signed, according to Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill.
The minister told Stabroek News on the sidelines of a recent event that government is awaiting the India Export Import (Exim) Bank, the financier of the line of credit, to offer its No-Objection.
Once that has been done, he explained, they will be moving to have the contract signed. While no timeline has been identified, he emphasised the contract will be signed “soon.”
Earlier this year it was announced that Ashoka Construction Company had won the bid for the construction of the road, which has been in the pipeline since 2015. The offering of a 5 per cent discount off its original bid price, which was the highest, made the company the best choice for the project.
Two other Indian companies – Afcons and Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Pvt. Ltd (DRAIPL) – had tendered for the project.
While the engineer’s estimate pegged the project at US$48.6 million, all the bids were twice the projected cost. The bids submitted were: Afcons – US$108,054,358; Ashoka – US$111,976,119; and DRAIPL – US$106,775,275.
India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr K J Srinivasa, in an interview with Stabroek News in January said: “So the tendering has been done [and the] company called Ashoka Buildcon has been, you know, selected, and I think the process is on to start the formalities to sign the agreement. They [Ashoka] tendered about $106 million or something for their bid and it’s a US$50 million from the Government of India but the rest will have to be done by the Government of Guyana.”
The company has already accepted the award.
According to Ashoka’s website, the company is a full-service contractor and industry leader, with the expertise to execute any scale of project within a limited time span. It boasts over 35 years of experience with some of India’s most challenging and complex projects.
“We have earned our reputation as one of the most experienced, innovative, and quality-driven contractors in India, with over 40 years of service in the civil construction industry,” the website states.
The website further states that it has sustained success through the strength and expertise of its people, providing innovative construction solutions to complex infrastructure projects across PAN India, especially in Uttar Pradesh. “Whatever your project is, we have the expertise to do it through our various contracting modes including general contracting/bid-build, CM/GC, design-build, design-bid-build, and public-private partnerships. Our greatest competitive advantage is the expertise and passion of our people. We are motivated to achieve the elements needed to provide project success and build structures and roadways that will leave a lasting impression for our clients, our society, and our communities.”
And apart from emerging as a leader in the construction of roads and bridges, Ashoka describes itself as a major player in India’s railway industry, having constructed several railway stations.
During a visit to India in January 2015, then-president, Donald Ramotar had received a US$50 million loan commitment from the Indian Exim Bank to fund the road project. After taking office in 2020, the PPP/C-led government amended the design of the proposed Ogle to Diamond bypass road to bring the project costs in line with the funds made available by the Indian government.
The initial bids were expected to be submitted by August last year by four Indian companies that were pre-qualified by the Government of India to tender for the project. This resulted in the project having to be retendered. The Indian government had to be re-engaged and Guyana was given the approval to retender for the project. Under the project, the first phase of the road is to be constructed from Ogle, East Coast Demerara, to Haags Bosch on the East Bank of Demerara, and will later have a connection to Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
