The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament was told on Monday that preparatory works for the new US$260m bridge across the Demerara River were moving apace.
“Works are moving apace on the new Demerara Harbour Bridge River crossing. As it is right now, the company is putting in place what is called their temporary work bridges that would be used for the setting up and the piling system that has to go in place,” according to the Ministry of Public Works’ Permanent Secretary, Vladim Persaud.
According to the Permanent Secretary, steel piles, which are currently being imported from China, are being used to build the temporary bridges.
He said that as the piles arrive in the Guyana they are being installed.
“Additionally, the company already has locations on the west bank and also the east bank in terms of landing facility and operational yard,” Persaud told the PAC.
But one red flag was raised in the 2019 Auditor General Report which pinpointed that a sum of $100 million was allotted towards the project but in contravention of section 43 of the Fiscal Administration and Accountability Act.
COVID-19 restrictions imposed resulted in delayed payments which were subsequently resolved according to the Ministry.
The Berbice River Bridge also experienced similar circumstance in terms of delayed payments as $120 million was allotted .The refund was done on September 2021.
The contract to build the estimated US$260 million bridge was signed in May, 2022 between the government and China Railway Construction (Caribbean) Company Limited (CRCCL). This was after months of technical and financial negotiations with the most responsive bidder – China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) – fell through.
CRCCL and their partner, China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Company Limited, who tendered for the project in a joint venture, were then selected.
Last year the Ministry of Finance announced that the government had completed the electronic signing of a loan agreement with the Bank of China for €160.8 million (US$172 million) for the building of the bridge. It did not give an explanation regarding the financing model, although it was the first time this aspect of the agreement was made public.
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, later explained that the loan formed part of the financing model proposed by the Chinese contractor.
“The $260 million signed last year was for the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract. The loan agreement that was signed last week is now the financing agreement, pursuant to the proposal made by the EPC contractor in their bid to mobilise bank financing through the Bank of China for the project,” he had told Stabroek News.
While the two-year construction timeline for the new Demerara Harbour Bridge insisted on by the government will remain, through negotiation with CRCCL, the US$25,000-per-day penalty for going past the date has been reduced to US$15,000.
