Guyana, Suriname technical team looking at financing for Corentyne River Bridge

The Governments of Guyana and Suriname are looking at the model and financing for the Corentyne River Bridge which will link the two countries. This is according to Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd.

“We have a technical team that we have established and they will look at financing on either side because we want to have a partnership arrangement with the Government of Suriname.

“Right now we’re focusing on the specs, we’re looking at financing and we want to be able to figure out which is the best model to use,” Todd told the media during an interview on the sidelines of an event on Friday.

Asked if the bridge will be funded by the Government, he said: “We want to do so but we have to explore the possibilities, it could be private initiative, it could be a public-private initiative.”

The US Government has floated in excess of $200B loan financing to Guyana during a recent visit.

According to Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Adam Boehler who led the team on a one-day visit to Guyana, under the ‘Growth in the Americas initiative’ the agencies are looking to finance large infrastructure project including the Corentyne River Bridge.

Last weekend, the Ministers of Public Works from Guyana and Suriname visited Long Island (Lange Island) in the Corentyne River which will form the centre of the bridge. The agreement is expected to be signed next month. 

There, Guyanese Chief Transport Planning Officer Patrick Thompson said consultations are still ongoing for the final design of the bridge. He explained that there will be a flat bridge leading from Guyana to Long Island where a road will be built to connect to the Surinamese side.

He said it will be a high-span bridge to allow for maritime traffic.

On Friday, Minister Todd noted that issues relating to jurisdiction relating to crime and traffic management on the bridge have not yet been discussed.