Guyana yesterday confirmed, that along with Suriname, it has approached China for concessionary funding for the planned Corentyne Bridge that will link the two countries.
“Yes,” President Irfaan Ali responded when asked yesterday by Stabroek News to confirm reports that on a recent visit to China, Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, handed over a joint letter on behalf of himself and Ali, to President Xi Jinping, seeking possible concessional financing for the Corentyne River bridge project.
It is unclear why after both sides had agreed on exploring China as a funding option that the government here said nothing. It is also not known if China has given a formal response.
The Suriname Herald newspaper reported that discussions are set to continue as soon as possible, at the level of the financial authorities, to explore funding options for the bridge.
“China supports the intentions of both governments to promote regional connectivity through a fixed river crossing, which is fully in the spirit of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative,” the article stated.
Another Surinamese newspaper, de Ware Tijd (dWT), highlighted that during talks on investment opportunities, between Santokhi and a top delegation in China, Wang Tongzhou, Chairman of China Communications Construction Company, Ltd (CCCC), expressed interest in investing in Suriname. The article said that China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a subsidiary of CCCC, is one of the companies being considered for the construction and financing of a bridge over the Corentyne River, and is already involved in projects in Suriname.
The proposal for the bridge was floated in a memorandum between Guyana and Suriname during Ali’s visit to Paramaribo in November 2020. While it was initially expected that construction would have already started, financial issues have caused delays in the project.
According to reports, qualified companies have indicated that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model proposed for financing the bridge is not feasible. Santokhi had stated that multinational agencies and private sector investors have shown interest in financing the project, but a decision will only be made after receiving technical advice from both countries.
Further, the Surinamese Head of State had emphasised that Suriname, bound by an IMF programme, could not take out a loan for the construction of the bridge. He had also mentioned that alternative financing options from institutions within and outside the region were being explored.
There has been a flurry of meetings between the two sides on nailing down financing for the bridge.
On March 24, it was announced that the presidents of Guyana and Suriname had instructed their respective teams to enter discussions of financing, pricing and other matters related to the development of the bridge over the Corentyne River. This decision came following a meeting between the two presidents at Soesdyke, Guyana, for follow up discussions regarding the building of the bridge.
