As government continues on its agenda to transform the infrastructural landscape of the country, soon the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara will be merged as one city through the impressive road networks and highways being created.
This position was shared by Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry Susan Rodrigues during a “Dream Realised” event last week that saw beneficiaries receiving house lots on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).
Rodrigues explained that the massive development that took place along the East Bank of Demerara – which saw communities situated there becoming very high-valued – is now coming to the East Coast of Demerara.
“I want to urge you to look at the development that took place on the East Bank of Demerara and then you will understand what is about to take place on the East Coast of Demerara. I know the East Bank has been a very desirous place, a place that has very high demand over the last few years and that is because there was a very effective strategy that was implemented under the leadership of our President when he was Minister at the Ministry of Housing and what he did transformed the lives of our low-income population when he placed them in what was then the ‘back’ but now with the construction of the four-lane highway, they are now situated in the ‘front’ which gave them the opportunity…to double, triple, quadruple, their net worth,” Minister Rodrigues expressed.
She went on to explain that significant investments are particularly being made in advancing the road network to increase better access between the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara, and soon, the two districts will become better integrated.
“All of the schemes on the East Coast are leading in a direction towards the East Bank and you will eventually be connecting to the Aubrey Barker Road link that will come all the way to the East Coast.”
“So, there is no one entry and exit to the East Coast any longer. We’re developing a very complex network of highways and roads and you will see a whole different community being developed along the East Coast, linking to the East Bank and we’ll probably [now] decide where the East Bank ends and where the East Coast begins because it will all be integrated into one big city,” the Minister posited.
Works are currently advancing on the highly anticipated four-lane road that will link the East Coast of Demerara corridor at Ogle directly to the East Bank Demerara corridor at Eccles.
A majority of this road is being built on virgin lands, hence, the works ongoing include clearing of the alignment, grubbing works, taking out the sap and sand filling and draining the area to prepare the foundation required to build the road.
It was announced that India-based Ashoka Buildcon Limited won the US$106 million contract to construct the road while RITES Limited, also out of India, secured the US$3.2 million contract for the provision of supervisory services for the project.
Back in 2015, the Indian Government had provided the US$50 million credit line for the road link that was initially slated for Ogle to Diamond, EBD. However, the project cost was driven up to over $208 million by the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government and the project languished under them.
However, when the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration took office in 2020, it redesigned the project into two phases to fit the LOC – first from Ogle to Haags Bosch road in Eccles, which is about 48-50 per cent of the project, and then from Eccles to Diamond – in order to fit the US$50 million LOC.
The Guyana Government is expected to undertake the extension from Diamond all the way to Timehri where the country’s main port of entry, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), is located.
Meanwhile, reports are that the EBD to ECD road link project will see the construction of some 7.8 kilometres of road from the East Coast to the East Bank with each of the four lanes being 3.6 metres wide. The highway will also feature a median in the middle and sidewalks as well as several connector roads, especially at the East Bank end to allow for further diversion of traffic.
Moreover, it was also reported that the Aubrey Barker Road that runs through South Ruimveldt in Georgetown will be developed to link the EBD with the ECD through the new Cummings Lodge Housing Scheme.
Works are also progressing on the $1.8 billion project to widen the corridors from Conversation Tree to Dennis Street in Georgetown. Guyanese company S Jagmohan Construction and Trinidadian-owned Kalco Guyana Limited were awarded the contract.
Works on the project entails the construction of a four-lane carriageway from the East Coast highway to Delhi Street, Georgetown. It also includes a double-lane carriageway on the reserve west of Delhi Street for northbound traffic and will also see the implementation of concrete revetments between the East Coast Demerara highway and Railway Embankment, and concrete drains on both sides of the proposed roadway between the Railway Embankment and Delhi Street.
The construction of two large concrete bridges to establish a connection to Dennis Street is also part of the project. This project forms part of Government’s plan to provide alternative routes to persons entering and leaving Georgetown.
