The Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday raised “grave concerns” over the government’s plan for a high span fixed bridge over the Berbice River.
President Irfaan Ali told Stabroek News on Sunday that plans are on stream for the four-lane bridge to match future development plans not just for Berbice but the country.
“Of course it will be a four-lane bridge …one of the things that is important in the building of these new transformative infrastructural projects such as the bridges in Wismar, the Berbice Bridge the Demerara Bridge… is us looking at ways in which they will add to the competiveness of the business environment and efficiency in the country,” the President told Stabroek News as he cited the long-term view.
“In Berbice, we are looking at the Palmyra development, the new gas project which will lead to an industrial estate that will itself need a bridge that caters for continuous use of both bridge and river traffic,” he said.
Ali said that the bridge will be similar to the Demerara Harbour Bridge, in terms of it being a high span fixed one that caters for large vessels passing under it and with four lanes for motor and other vehicular traffic all day and night.
In Friday’s edition of the Stabroek News, the Ministry of Public Works advertised for the pre-qualification of contractors to design, build and finance the New Berbice River Bridge.
The pre-qualification application documents were to be made available from 9 am yesterday at the Ministry of Public Works’ Accounts Department in Fort Street, Kingston for a $25,000 non-refundable fee.
Tenders must be submitted to and will be opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board on September 18th 2024.
The Ministry of Public Works stated that qualification requirements include, but are not limited to: “Letters of Intent to Finance from institutions of repute and previous experience in the Design/Build modality of project implementation for projects of this magnitude”.
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill has said that there was no need for a feasibility study for the building of a new bridge as it will just be replacing the current retractable one and has a similar alignment.
“We don’t see a need because all we have to do is get a superior modern bridge,” he had told Stabroek News.
Yesterday, the AFC raised a series of concerns about what the government intends.
The AFC said that if modelled after the New Demerara River Bridge, the Berbice Bridge would be projected to cost the taxpayers of Guyana in excess of US$260 million.
“This significant investment, which far exceeds the cost of the existing Berbice Bridge, necessitates rigorous scrutiny and transparency to ensure that it is in the best interest of the Guyanese people”, the party said.
Stating that it is not opposed to development and modernization, the AFC called on the government to immediately release the findings of any pre-feasibility study that has informed the decision to proceed with this new bridge project. It said that it also expected that a comprehensive feasibility study and an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) will be done and made available to the public before any further steps are taken.
It listed a series of key concerns.
It said that the current Berbice Bridge operates under a concessional agreement that runs until 2030 and questioned whether the government intends to prematurely terminate this agreement, and if so, what compensation will be provided to the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI).
The AFC noted that the Berbice Bridge Company had previously said that it is operating at a loss, leading to attempts to increase tolls four-fold in 2018—a move that the AFC said it successfully blocked. The company subsequently challenged the decision in the Caribbean Court of Justice and lost. With the government’s announcement of a new bridge, the AFC said that it remains unclear whether the company will once again seek legal recourse.
It also pointed out that the existing Berbice Bridge, which cost US$40 million, was initially criticized for its questionable feasibility.
“The then-PPP government resorted to a controversial public-private partnership (PPP) model, aspects of which are still under judicial review. The AFC urges the government to avoid repeating past mistakes by ensuring that this new project is based on solid, transparent, and publicly available data”, the party said.
The AFC said it is also concerned that the decision to build a new bridge may be based on flawed assumptions.
“It is worth noting that the current administration has recently acknowledged the infeasibility of other large-scale projects, such as a deep-water harbour and an oil refinery. The AFC questions whether a similar assessment has been conducted for this bridge, and if not, why the project is being pursued”, the AFC said.
The location of the proposed bridge and the anticipated toll rates are also critical factors that remain undisclosed, it noted.
“The AFC demands that these details be provided, as they will directly impact the livelihoods of those who rely on the bridge for daily commutes”, the party added.
The AFC contended that that despite Guyana’s newfound oil wealth, the country’s needs far exceed its revenues.
“It is imperative that every dollar spent yields maximum returns for the benefit of all Guyanese. Reckless spending on projects that lack clear feasibility and do not offer foreseeable benefits in the short and medium term will place an undue financial burden on future generations.
“The AFC calls on the government to act with prudence and transparency. We urge the administration to provide the public with all relevant studies and assessments related to the new Berbice River Bridge project. Only with a clear and justified plan can we ensure that such a significant investment is truly in the best interest of our nation”, the party asserted.
Reduce
In January of this year, President Ali had said that the government was working towards playing a greater role in the BBCI to reduce the tolls for the benefit of citizens.
At the sod-turning ceremony for the New Amsterdam Hospital, he said, “We are in the process at the policy level of formulating a plan to work with the investors in the Berbice Bridge to have the government play a greater role because now we have to carry the maintenance cost, and all of this is aimed to make it much, much easier and cheaper for you to cross the Berbice River.”
Then in May, he said that he would have soon been meeting with investors to discuss the Berbice River Bridge, with the idea of reducing the risk and burden and to allow residents to be in a better place altogether.
“We are hoping in the coming three months to have some discussions, to commence discussions as you know many of the investors in the Berbice River Bridge have asked us to sit down with them to have some discussions, we are going to have that discussion with the investors so that we can come up with a common plan and at the back of our head is how we can ensure that as much as possible we reduce, the risk, we reduce burden, we reduce the cost of production and increase the competitiveness of the region”, Ali had told residents in the Upper Corentyne Area.
Berbicians and people accessing the county have long complained about the high toll costs with motor cars being charged $1900 to cross.
For years, BBCI has tussled with various governments over the fact that scheduled toll increases were not permitted. This had left the bridge company’s finances in a precarious state. The major shareholders in the bridge company are the National Insurance Scheme with 20%, New GPC with 20%, Queens Atlantic Investment with 20% and Secure International Finance Corporation with 20%.
The President on Sunday said that before the end of this year, he will unveil plans to address the burden of bridge tolls on citizens of this country.
“We are also looking to minimize the impact on consumers from a financial and use perspective…right now we are examining different options and before the ned of the year I will be addressing these,” he said.
