Croal explains $15b figure for Meer-Zorgen to Schoonord

A section of the new stretch of road
A section of the new stretch of road

-questions still linger

Two contracts for the four-lane highway from Meer-Zorgen to Schoonord were added together and is the reason a price tag of $15 billion is being stated for the two-phase project which seeks to shorten traffic times on the West Bank of Demerara, Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal has said.

“It’s one project but with two roads; two phases… you have that first road, the Meer-Zorgen Highway as right ahead soon you come off the [Demerara Harbour] bridge and that takes you to Schoonord to Crane Highway. It is two separate projects that is why the cost is $15 billion,” Croal told Stabroek News.

“So you have the $11 billion-plus for the Schoonord to Crane and then you have the rest for that [Meer-Zorgen] to Schoonord… I don’t see the problem,” he added.