The proposed bridge across the Corentyne River could start before the end of this year, according to a statement yesterday from a Joint Ministerial Committee of Suriname and Guyana in neighbouring Paramaribo.
The purpose of the meeting was to elaborate on the financing modalities for the construction of the Corantijn/Corentyne river bridge and was held as part of the on-going process to pursue this project initiated by President Chandrikapersad Santokhi and President Irfaan Ali in November 2020.
Both sides, the statement said, took the opportunity to iterate the importance of a fixed connection between the two countries, not only to advance economic opportunities and connect the road network between Guyana and Suriname and ultimately enhance hemispheric connectivity with Brazil and the rest of the South American continent, but also to facilitate people-to-people contacts. In this regard both sides reconfirmed their commitment to a timely construction of the bridge.
A number of specific recommendations regarding construction, financing and management, emanating from this Ministerial meeting set out a clear time-bound framework to take this initiative to a next level. Following these decisions, it is anticipated that construction could commence before the end of 2024. These recommendations will be submitted to the Presidents of Suriname and Guyana for further consideration and decision at their anticipated meeting this weekend in Guyana.
Back in January, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill had reported that a meeting had been planned to discuss the way forward regarding the financing of the proposed Corentyne River Bridge. The planned meeting was organised following word from the two companies that qualified for the project that they were unable to meet the pre-financing terms set out.
Suriname newspaper, de Ware Tijd (dWT), reported that on January 8, Surinamese President Chandrikapersad ‘Chan’ Santokhi, stated that the qualified companies have disclosed that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model proposed was not feasible, and both countries are now to look at financing.
According to dWT, Santokhi said that after the advice of the two ministers of public works, the two heads of government will decide on how to proceed with the project. In mid-October of last year, Edghill had announced that two companies, Dutch engineering company, Ballast Nedam and Chinese-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) had submitted proposals to build the bridge over the Corentyne River to link Guyana and Suriname.
Following an evaluation of the submissions, a proposal was to be made to Georgetown and Paramaribo and upon agreement, the selected company was to be announced. However, no one from the Guyana government had disclosed that the two firms were unable to finance the project, and it was only after the Surinamese President’s announcement and the reporting of it in the Suriname media that Guyanese became aware.
Five companies had been pre-qualified as contractors/joint ventures. They were CRBC; China Railway Construction International Ltd, China Railway Construction Caribbean Co Ltd and China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co Ltd; Ballast Nedam Infra Suriname B.V; China Harbour Engineering Company; and China Overseas Engineering Group Co Ltd, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co Ltd and China Railway First Group.
With only two companies having submitted bids, it was unclear what the reason was for the diminished interest from the other three companies. DWT had reported Suriname’s Minister of Public Works, Dr Riad Nurmohamed, as saying that the PPP model price tag presented by one company amounted to “four times as high” as what was expected. “According to the minister, there is no reason to (issue) a new tender. The two governments will be advised to engage with the lowest bidder and seek ‘cheap funding,’” DWT reported
When the project was first announced in 2020, the Ministry of Public Works had said that that the Corentyne River Bridge would be constructed as a PPP arrangement in accordance with the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain model (DBFOM). This meant that the successful contractor or joint venture would have responsibility for its final design, construction, financing, operation.
Suriname was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation, Albert Ramdin; Minister of Finance and Planning, Kermechend Raghoebarsing; and Minister of Public Works, Riad Nurmohamed; and their technical teams.
Guyana was represented by, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh; Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, and their technical teams.
