Rehabilitation of the Linden to Mabura Road is expected to commence soon, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said on Tuesday noting that a contract had already been awarded and was signed last week.
Edghill said he was aware of the poor state of the road and every effort is being put in place to have the contractor, RIM Construction Inc., commence work. Edghill was responding to a letter in Tuesday’s Stabroek News, in which three Lindeners, M. Lorimer, and W. Jeffrey, and S. Baynes questioned the delay in commencement of work.
“Users of this critical transportation corridor were optimistic when a road maintenance contract was finally awarded toward the end of last year, but we are now three months into the new year and significant works are yet to begin,” they wrote. However, Edghill clarified that the tendering process commenced this year, and after evaluation, a contract was awarded and signed for the entire stretch of the Linden to Lethem Road. According to the authors of the letter, at present, it takes 7 hours from Linden to Mile 58, Mabura Road by truck, at the risk of significant vehicular … and tyre damage – as well as physical hardship to the driver – compared to 3 hours when the road is maintained. The journey works out to just over 8 miles per hour, and the hardships are even more severe in this season of increasing fuel prices, the authors noted.
“While we anxiously await the upgrading of this road to a proper highway, we implore the Minister of Public Works and his team, to prioritise maintenance of this critical roadway in the interim, and to bring much needed relief to the users of this roadway,” they said.
Edghill sought to pre-empt any questions as to why the government would be engaged in a rehabilitation contract when it is about to construct a new road from Linden to Mabura.
“If they will like to make a problem while we are making a new road and maintaining the road…people still have to use the road while they wait on mobilization and the start of building the infrastructure on the road. The road is in a bad shape,” Edghill stated. He went on to explain that currently government is in the final stages of negotiations with the contracted Brazilian firm, Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A, and his technical staff and the firm are working on the contract. “We are in the final stages of negotiation with the contractor and getting the contract document for signature…we are completing the negotiations with the contractor for closure…” he related, before stating that the public will witness a contract signing soon. Documents seen by Stabroek News show that Brazilian firm, Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A was listed as the most responsive bidder.
On February 3rd, the Ministry of Finance announced that a contractor had been selected for the project, which is a joint undertaking of Guyana, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
“The bids were carefully scrutinized and evaluated by a team of local engineers. After a thorough evaluation process involving engagements and consultations with the Caribbean Development Bank, Consultant Mott MacDonald and other specialists, Bid No. 5, Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A, was determined as the most responsive bid indicating full compliance with all Environmental, Social, Health and Safety requirements. The CDB indicated its concurrence with the recommendation of the Guyanese evaluation committee and issued its No-Objection to commence negotiations with the winning bidder,” a release from the ministry stated. This project will be the largest ever funded by the CDB.
The road works will include upgrading the existing alignment to Asphaltic Concrete Surface consisting of 2 lanes being 7.2 metres wide, approximately 121 kilometres long, and the installation of five drainage structures. In December 2020, it was announced here that the CDB, the United Kingdom, and the Guyana Government, had partnered to fund the US$190 million project for the upgrading of 121 kilometres of road from Linden to Mabura Hill. The CDB is putting up US$112 million via a loan towards the project. The UK is providing a US$66 million grant and the Guyana Government will provide US$12 million, taking the total to US$190 million. At the bidding process, the company erred by not including a 10% for contingencies. The company was notified, and subsequently accepted the arithmetical error and changed the bid price, moving it from $29, 546,747,077.22 (after a discount from $30,618,722,436) to $32,501,421,713.
