A contractor having already been identified by both Guyana and Suriname to build the Corentyne River Bridge, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill has said the final stage is to formulate and approve the financing structure for the project.
This publication understands that these governments have jointly approached China for financing, but talks have been halted with the terms and structure in regard to financing incomplete.
Minister Edghill explained that the Guyana Government is ready to move forward with the project, but challenges affecting the sovereign state of Suriname have prevented the Joint Ministerial Task Force from so doing.
“We are ready, like I said. I can speak definitively for Guyana; but Suriname, because they have their Structural Adjustment Programme and what’s happening with the IMF (International Monetary Fund)…I think we should not go into that, because it’s a sovereign state. I can only preferably state that we have some challenges, and they have to work out how the borrowing or accessing funding fits into their strategic programme that they are presently in with the IMF…We are waiting for them to work through that. I believe that President Santokhi and President Ali have been speaking about it. The Foreign Minister of Suriname and the Foreign Minister of Guyana have been in conversation,” Edghill has said.
Edghill explained that construction of the bridge would begin once the financing agreement has been finalized. He disclosed that an avenue exists for Guyana to fast-track the project and develop the financing structure, but the Surinamese Government must give its consent, because this project is a joint venture.
“The ministerial teams have been established (and) the technical teams have been (established). We’ve gone out for the consultancies for the design (and) we’ve got the proposals (and) we’ve got the evaluation. The only thing (left) to (be agreed) on is the financing…,” he detailed.
“Or, there will have to be some agreement between Guyana and Suriname on how Guyana can proceed while Suriname gets its house in order,” he explained.
The Corentyne River Bridge is one of the first projects agreed on between Presidents Ali and Santokhi. These Heads of States had previously underscored the critical role the bridge would play in advancing cooperation and creating more opportunities for development for both countries.
The Corentyne River Bridge, which would connect Moleson Creek in Guyana with South Drain in Suriname, would be approximately 3.1 kilometres in length, and would have a landing on Long Island in the Corentyne River, where a commercial hub and tourist destination would be established. That duty-free zone would see major infrastructural development: such as hotels, recreational parks, entertainment spots, tourist attractions, malls, and farmers’ markets.
A contract worth US$2 million was signed in Paramaribo, in May of 2022, for several preliminary studies and research to be conducted on the Corentyne bridge by WSP Caribbean. The Expressions of Interest were also simultaneously launched.
WSP Caribbean presented the design of the Corentyne River Bridge to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and his Surinamese counterpart, Minister Riad Nurmohamed, in June 2023. It entailed a two-section structure that is connected via an island (Long Island) to link Guyana and Suriname. The design also featured a two-lane bridge with accommodation for a third lane in case of an emergency.
Six international companies – five Chinese firms and one Dutch company from The Netherlands – had submitted bids for the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge. The bids were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in Georgetown back in August 2023.
Initially, the plan was to have the bridge built according to a design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) model, meaning that whichever company is contracted to build the bridge would be responsible for its design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance. The bridge was also to have been constructed via a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
In October 2023, two companies – Dutch engineering company Ballast Nedam and Chinese-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) – submitted proposals to build the bridge over the Corentyne River to link Guyana and Suriname. However, those companies have since indicated that they are unable to meet the pre-financing requirement.
In an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government Conference, held in Georgetown earlier this year, President Santokhi had said there are financial institutions that are willing to fund the construction of the bridge. He said informal discussions had been held with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which had indicated an interest in financing the project.
Meanwhile, upon completion, the bridge would not only link these two neighbouring countries, but would also open up access to greater economic opportunities beyond them: into French Guiana, and through the road network being developed, into Brazil and eventually further into South America.
