Eccles to Diamond $5 B Interlink Road commissioned

Guyanese will, from today, enjoy a delivered promise the Government. Earlier today President
Irfaan Ali officially commissioned the Eccles to Diamond Interlink Road on the East Bank of
Demerara. The $5B project which will see thousands benefiting, was conceptualised by the
President in 2013, while he was the Housing and Water Minister. The road begins from the
fourth bridge along the Mocha Arcadia Access Road and runs right through to 6th Avenue,
Diamond. Ali said the project was abandoned by the former Coalition Administration, but was
resumed when his PP/C Administration, took office again, in August, 2020.  “When we left
office, the foundation for the road was completed. For five years nothing happened, and we came
back and completed the project,” Ali said.

The Head of State noted in addition to easing the traffic congestion on the East Bank, new lands
for housing and commercial development will be opened along the road’s corridor.   “This area
will be a reservoir for job creation also. We will have more than 300- 400 acres of land
developed specifically for industrial development, and then we have commercial development
and the from the type of proposals that we’ve already received, you will have hundreds and
hundreds, if not thousands of jobs created along the corridor of this road. So, this road, while it is
permanent in nature, it is a stop gap for what is coming,” Ali explained. The President said that
the health and wellness of citizens is a priority, further disclosing that talks with contractors
about having a safe jogging path created along the road have commenced.
Ali said that the road is part of a larger project which will create links to several part of the coast,
and will offer significant relief to thousands of commuters. This, he said that the anticipated
traffic congestion and the growth in the traffic will be facilitated with good infrastructure and
good urban planning. “We are now in the process of awarding a contract to widen and reinforce
the Eccles link that would be connected to the Mandela link…the total investment of that
corridor is $16 billion…now while that is going on we are looking at expanding the Eccles Road
to the East Coast corridor. So, there’s the new expansion from Ogle that will also start next year
that initially will come to Eccles, and then connect further on to Diamond, and then to Timehri,”
he said. He continued, “So, the interconnection here is that from Diamond you will be able to go
straight to Ogle on the East Coast, go straight to Mandela to get back into Georgetown or head to
the airport.”
Housing and Water Minister, Colin Croal, also gave brief remarks. Croal disclosed that the
commissioning of the road will directly impact 18,000 residents.“At the level of the CHPA, we
were also aware of the challenges the lack of access roads had on the housing developments that
we are pursuing in this area. Happily, those worries are considerably lessened this morning,”
Croal said
Meanwhile, Junior Housing and Water Minister, Susan Rodrigues, shared similar sentiments.
Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council Chairman Ms. Indrani Ramarine along
with other residents in the community praised the government for the initiative.