Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill clarified the current status and addressed concerns over the delay in the Linden to Mabura Hill Road project’s timeline.
Speaking in Parliament last week, Edghill acknowledged that the project was “lagging” behind schedule, revealing that the road is 39% complete. The initial completion date, June 19, 2025, is now six months away. However, recent reports in online news outlets suggested the project’s completion date had been extended to December 2025. Edghill, expressing his concerns, said that he was unaware of any official agreements to extend the timeline and called the reports “misleading.” He emphasized that as the minister responsible for the project, no formal engagement or agreement had been made with the FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) team to push the completion date to December 2025.
The minister further explained that the contractor responsible for the project had proposed several changes, including invoking price escalation clauses. These proposals were brought before the Dispute Adjudication Board, with ongoing negotiations and dialogue with the contractor. “We have shared differences of views, and we are still in the process of resolving them,” Edghill stated.
He said that work on the road continues, with all bridges from Mabura to Kurupukari under construction, just as all bridges from Kurupukari to Lethem have been completed. The minister confirmed that the government is actively engaged with the contractor to address any unresolved issues. “Yes, there are issues that are not resolved, and yes, we are behind schedule, but as soon as we can work out all these issues, we will update the nation on the situation,” said Edghill.
