Works have commenced to deliver to the residents of Bartica, Region Seven a re-designed stelling which is expected to brighten the community’s water front. Bartica is one of four areas targeted for township status.
Marclene Merchant, General Manager of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) indicated that phase two of the project is catered for in the 2016 National Budget to the value of $300M.
She added that phase two will see the re-design of the entire stelling which will deliver a two-storeyed building.
“The ground floor will house the T&HD staff, a canteen and a waiting lounge for passengers … the upper flat will have offices that will be rented out to business people from the area,” Merchant explained.
The new stelling will be outfitted with floating ramps for speedboats that operate the Bartica-Parika route, and the building will be placed on concrete decking.
Additionally, a floating link span ramp, similar to that which exists at Supenaam stelling will be installed to provide for side loading.
“The link span ramp will be dropped onto the vessel rather than using stages…we have very heavy trucks traversing Parika-Bartica and very often we have problems with stages breaking,” Merchant explained.
Phase one of the project saw $30.6M being spent to replace the fender/mooring system, cluster piles and the dilapidated decking and rotten beams.
In 2015, a sum of $644 million was allocated for dredging the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers; docking of MB Sandaka, MV Barima, and MV Kimbia; acquiring spares; and rehabilitating stellings at Georgetown, Parika, Leguan and Bartica.
