Close to $1.5B allocated to rehabilitate community roads in Region Three – President Ali

President Dr Mohamed Ali has announced the allocation of almost $1.5 billion to rehabilitate several community roads in Recht-door-Zee, Westminster, and Onderneeming in Region Three.

The head of state spoke of the developments when he spearheaded a walkabout exercise in several communities in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara district on Sunday morning.

“[Its] an investment of over a billion dollars in those three areas alone…Close to $1.5 billion. So, that is to tell you the amount of resources that have to be spent to do these roads,” the president stated.

Approximately 25 roads will be rehabilitated. The works will be executed using asphaltic concrete by contractors within the same areas for expeditious completion.

The president disclosed that this week the design for the entire network will be finalised, along with surveys to determine priority areas based on occupancy rates.

In addressing the concerns of drainage and irrigation, the government has mobilised four excavators in Schoonord, La Parfaite Harmonie, and Lust-en-Rust, after several blockages in distribution lines were identified.

Residents were also assured of receiving first-level treated water by December, as construction of the new water treatment plant at Lust-en-Rust is 65 per cent complete.

The project includes the running of transmission lines and drainage of two wells at Westminster and L’Oratiore to supply the plant.

The transmission lines are 95 per cent complete. When completed, the interconnection works and network upgrades will follow.

Meanwhile, President Ali said steps will be taken to involve housing authorities and local government to enforce surcharges on individuals who have abandoned or neglected to clean their lands.

He acknowledged that land repossession is a complex issue, with some cases tied up in court for years. However, despite this, efforts are being made to address the problem.

“We are going to get housing [ministry] to come in with local government [ministry] to see how we can surcharge the people and get them to pay. In many cases, we [government] invest our own resources that should go to roads and infrastructure to clean the land,” the president explained.

During the walkabout, community grounds in Cornelia Ida and La Parfaite Harmony were also identified for rehabilitation and President Ali pledged immediate intervention.

He was accompanied by Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag, along with several technical officers.