Ogle to Eccles Highway to connect to new Demerara River Bridge

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill today announced that the Ogle to Eccles Highway will be extended to the new Demerara River Bridge at Providence.

According to the Minister, the contractor, Ashoka Buildcon Limited was already engaged to extend the road from Eccles to Providence on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) at the same rate as the four lane highway, which was commissioned on Monday.

The road, which cuts through former swamp lands to achieve this ambitious feat, was initially budgeted to be US$106.4 million, but was increased to US$133.8 million to accommodate bridges, drains, an elevated surface to mitigate flooding and an expansion of the road from two to four lanes for the entirety of the road.

However, Edghill disclosed that the increased sum is still lower than the US$275 million budgeted by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government.

This development he said “speaks about two things, the value that the PPP/C government puts into project management ensuring value for money and ensuring the efficiency of public spending. We have delivered this project on time and under budget.”

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar indicated that the road was built using “the best” construction technology.

He noted that throughout the project, the government worked with the contractors to source materials and overcome challenges faced.

He urged drivers and other users of the road to work towards ensuring the road lasts its full potential. “The road, it belong to Guyanese, we must treat it as our property, should not park trucks and haulers on the side of the road should not speed and should not go in the nights to dig pout the reflectors from the road,” he said.

The event was also addressed by Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. Amit S. Telang who lauded the partnership between Guyana and India.

He noted that the relationship is “becoming deeper and stronger” as the developmental partnership between the two countries expand.

The road was completed with a Line of credit extended from Indian EXIM bank.

In a video message, External Affairs Minister of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also lauded the partnership between the countries.