Contracts signed for $2.3B Eccles to Mandela four-lane highway

With road works well advanced on a road link between Diamond to Eccles along the East Bank of Demerara, the Ministry of Housing and Water signed contracts with six firms on Thursday for the continuation of the roadway as a fully concrete four-lane highway from Eccles to Mandela, Georgetown.

The road works, which have been divided into six lots, will commence on April 14, 2021, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, on December 10, 2021.

The project will see a four-lane highway being constructed featuring a dual carriageway of two lanes each. With the combined total of the winning bids amounting to $2.3 billion, the scope of works includes land clearing, construction of drains and culverts, paving and the installation of solar street lights and bridges.

The project is seen as direct government intervention to the daily traffic congestion along the East Bank corridor.

Back in January, President Irfaan Ali first announced the construction of the four-lane highway, promising that once completed it will significantly ease the traffic congestion.

The design for the highway was done in-house at the Ministry of Housing and Water and boast of being the first fully concrete highway being built in Guyana.

The firms that signed contracts on Thursday are from Guyana, Trinidad and Brazil and include: Guyamerica Construction Inc., (joint venture) MTSUL Contrucoes Ltda., M&P Investments Inc., Constuora Cobra Eireli, Purans Bros. Disposal Inc., (joint venture) Collin Talbot Contracting Services, Eron Lall Civil Engineering Works, Aronco Services Inc. and JS Guyana Inc.

The signing, which was done by the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Sherwyn Greaves, was also witnessed by Ministers of Housing and Water Collin Croal and Susan Rodrigues.

The Housing officials all charged the contractors to put their best foot forward and deliver on time.

Rodrigues said the project was part of the PPP government keeping its manifesto promise while Croal printed out that several thousand households stand to benefit directly from the construction of the roadway.