T&T firm to reconstruct Linden/ Soesdyke Highway for US$161m

The sod turning (Office of the Prime Minister photo)

By Marcelle Thomas

Reconstruction of the more than half-century-old Linden/Soesdyke Highway is set to commence soon as government yesterday inked a US$161 million contract with Trinidad and Tobago’s Namalco Group and its local partner, GuyAmerica Construction Inc.

The supervisory works will be undertaken by Al-Habshi Engineering (Kuwait) in association with C.B and Associates Inc (Guyana), for the sum of US$1.755 million.

Financed via US$206 million from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the first from the bank for a development project here, President Irfaan Ali said that the two-year project is aimed at not only fixing the road and installing 2,900 street lights along the way, but it ties in with the broad-based future planning to also create jobs.

The project, he said, is expected to employ some 300 persons from communities along the highway and provide many with skills training and as such, urged those persons to capitalise on the opportunities presented them.