Contracts valued at a total of $8.6 billion have been signed for work on 268 roads throughout Region Six yesterday.
The contracts were signed by the Ministry of Public Works and some 200 contractors.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo along with several ministers of government were present yesterday at the Albion Sports Complex for the signings. At the location, Jagdeo explained that some 300 community roads, at a cost of $10 billion, will be completed in Region Six this year.
He explained that government had a Cabinet outreach in the region where it was discovered that one of the main issues was that of roads and as a result a decision was taken to invest capital into community roads.
He then directed the over 200 contractors present at the location to ensure that the roads be built to specifications with the required materials.
He told them that if the materials are tested and it is discovered that the requirements are not met, then they will not get another contract. “Your progress will depend on you personally. How well you do, the standards that you lay out, and how quickly you complete the infrastructure project,” he said.
Additionally, Jagdeo pointed out that the various neighborhood democratic councils and communities will be monitoring the works, as he noted the need to strengthen the monitoring of works throughout the region.
Jagdeo also stated that there seemingly is also a shortage of contractors. “So even when sometimes we get shoddy work, people say why you giving him another project but that contractor might be the only one bidding,” he explained.
Expansion of Corentyne Highway
Meanwhile, according to Jagdeo another $10 billion is expected to be spent on the project to expand the highway from Molsen Creek to New Amsterdam from two lanes to four. “Another $10 billion to just widen the bridges, move the utilities on the main road. We now doing about 99 structures on the main road, bridges to widen.”
Jagdeo explained that, initially, they were looking at expanding the road to three lanes but after taking a good look at the cost to move the utility poles and the water mains, they decided that “we will have to bite the bullet and do the four lanes.”
He said that there will be issues in some communities like Rose Hall Town, where the development of a four-lane might not be physically possible. “We are trying to look at a solution because we want a major four-lane road from Molsen all the way to New Amsterdam,” he stressed.
