The ‘Main Road Rehabilitation Project Phase 11 Bridges Project’ was signed by the Public Works Ministry and Dywidag, a German firm and represents Phase One of the bridges project.

It will see the construction of the new Mahaica and Mahaicony bridges, as well as the Success, Lusignan and Good Hope bridges, all on the East Coast.
The entire structures of the Mahaica and Mahaicony bridges will be shifted from their original foundations.

The contract, which is part of the Inter-American Development Bank-funded Main Road Rehabilitation Programme Phase 11, was signed at the office of Public Works Minister Anthony Xavier by Permanent Secretary, Mr Kenneth Jordan and Mr Hans Kroger of Dywidag.

The works, scheduled to commence on January 15, 2003, will be supervised by Figg Engineering of the United States and will be overlooked by the Work Services Group (WSG) of the Ministry.

Construction is expected to be completed within 22 months, officials of the Ministry said.

WSG Coordinator, Mr Rickford Lowe, said the bridges are expected to last at least 80 years and since their components will be pre-fabricated, the construction time on each bridge will be significantly less than normal.

Mr Lowe told reporters following the signing that the construction of the bridges will remove very serious traffic hazards and will generate a lot of employment locally.

Giving an overview of the history of the firm, Kroger said it is nearly 140 years old. It came into existence before World War 1, and is one of the oldest civil engineering groups in Germany.

He said they have been working worldwide and have records of working in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia and have ongoing works in Nicaragua and Panama.

According to Kroger, the firm's annual turnover is about US$3B.

"We are quite happy that we won this contract in Guyana because this allows us to enter into this country. We are convinced that we are going to perform a reliable and good work and we are looking forward to staying in this country," Kroger commented.

He gave the assurance that his firm will sublet some of the works to local contractors but will import most of its own equipment. Some equipment will be hired locally to cover demands, he pointed out.