Over US$100M expended on new Demerara River Bridge to date

Of the US$260 million earmarked to construct the new Demerara River Bridge, some US$150 million has been spent to date, smoothly advancing the river crossing to almost 70 per cent completion.

The project is being executed by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited and supervisory firm, Politecnica.

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, on Thursday, inspected the ongoing construction on the eastern side of the bridge, where he underscored the many positive impacts, it will have on commuters.

“It must never be lost in terms of our focus. This new Demerara bridge is a signature of the transformative project, because of the benefits that it will bring to thousands of people, and every day we are seeing that it will become a reality,” the minister stated.

Substantial work has already been done on the temporary working platforms, along with the placement of drilled shafts, pile caps, piers, and tower legs, among other crucial constructions.

The bridge was built with a 300-metre width safety passageway instead of 100-metre, to minimise any possible collision. The foundation structure has also been built with certain materials that are strong enough to facilitate impacts.

Minister Edghill explained that technical engineers of the contracting company have since travelled to China, to test other components and materials that are needed to advance the project. The last shipment of these materials is expected to be in the country by October.

Additionally, in the contract, the company has to do 5o metres of road on both the eastern and western sides of the bridge.

“They have already created 50 metres of road…We can tell you that we are at an advanced procurement stage on the road. It is already at the place of signing the contract,” the minister revealed.

He further added that there are also connector roads that have been built to facilitate the flow of traffic on the Heroes Highway and the East Bank of Demerara.

Meanwhile, Minister Edghill made it clear that there is no issue between the government and property holders within the Peter’s Hall area, as perpetuated by some media.

“All of the land that is required to pass through Peter’s Hall area is already vested in the state…We had to deal with about 50 property holders. We negotiated with the property holders at the level of the Ministry of Housing and the level of the Ministry of Public Works. We have settled most of them,” the minister explained.

He added that the government has ensured a fair market value with the resident.