$3.4B budgeted for roads and bridges
Stabroek News
March 30, 2004
Government will spend $3.4B on highways, roads and bridges this year, while almost $1B has been budgeted for sea defence work.
Finance Minister Saisnarine Kowlessar announced yesterday that the completion of rehabilitation of the Mahaica-Rosignol Road is among the major projects for the year.
Other projects include the construction of the four-lane highway, the rehabilitation and expansion of the West Demerara main road, the rehabilitation of the New Amsterdam/Moleson Creek Highway as well as the southern entrance into Georgetown.
He also said that the project to reconstruct the Corentyne Highway is to be presented to the IDB in June, while almost $700M has been allocated to refurbish community roads countrywide.
More than $2.2B will be spent to complete the construction of the two new main bridges at Mahaica and Mahaicony, and for the construction or replacement of smaller bridges and culverts between Timehri and Rosignol. Also, $100M has been budgeted for repair works on minor bridges throughout the country.
Kowlessar noted that in February this year work restarted on the construction of the Takutu Bridge linking Guyana and Brazil. He also said that the IDB has agreed to finance a pre-feasibility study for a multi-model project involving the construction of a heavy-duty cargo highway linking Guyana and Brazil, and a deep water port in Guyana. It was also reported that discussions are continuing on options for constructing the Berbice River Bridge.
In the transport sector Kowlessar said the government would be focusing on the development of a transport sector policy. He said funding has already been secured from the European Union (EU) to conduct a study to develop an integrated transport network which would allow for smooth movement among air, water and road. That study is expected to begin this year.
Air Transport
The government has budgeted $670M for the sector, of which $573M will be used to execute works under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Air Transport Sector Reform Project. The project will focus on the upgrade of the runway, rehabilitation of the arrival's terminal and the sewerage system, and acquisition of X-ray equipment and a sweeper truck for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Airstrips at Orinduik, Annai and Port Kaituma are also to be rehabilitated as part of the Hinterland Airstrip Programme.
Under the Airport Security Programme, $17M will be spent to procure equipment and redesign the security procedures at the Ogle and the Cheddi Jagan airports to strengthen security.
Maritime Infrastructure
The Leguan Stelling, the Coast Guard Wharf and the ferry stellings are among the construction and rehabilitation projects which will be covered under the $295M budgeted for maritime facilities. Kowlessar also said GNSC would be spending nearly $19M to upgrade port facilities and improve security.
Sea Defences
Kowlessar said $955M would be spent to improve sea defences. Of this sum, $457M is to be spent on the rehabilitation of sections of river and sea defences at Johanna Cecilia, in the Lower Pomeroon, Maria's Pleasure, Blenheim, La Grange, Hyde Park, Grove, Turkeyen, Buxton-Vigilance, Belladrum, and Cornelia Ida. A further $345M will go to the construction of sea defence at Profit-Belladrum. While $153M will be used to continue the shore-zone management programme and finalise the designs and prepare tender dossiers for the construction of sea defences at Capoey/Columbia, Hague, Dekinderen/Meten-Meer-Zorg and Tuschen.
Meanwhile, the National Drainage and Irrigation Board (NDIB) will spend $400M on a range of drainage and irrigation projects.
In addition, Kowlessar said the Government has approached the IDB for a $5B loan for an Agriculture Sector Support Programme.
Feasibility studies are being done for the programme, which is expected to bring over 120,000 acres of farmlands in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) and Four (Demerara/Mahaica) under government occupation.
Electricity
Kowlessar said the Government is exploring options for the re-privatisation of Guyana Power and Light Company Ltd (GPL), but in the interim a business strategy for the period 2004-08 has been prepared. This requires an investment of $12B to stabilise the company's operations.
GPL is also looking at the reformulation of the Unserved Areas Electricity Project (UAEP) Loan with the IDB to focus on technical and commercial loss reduction activities. He said this could result in a reduction of technical and commercial losses of approximately 11% over five years, in addition to new connections to homes that are currently not served with electricity. More than 25,000 people are expected to benefit.
He said GPL also needs to add in excess of 50 megawatts of new generating capacity in the next five years and he explained that the company would negotiate purchasing power agreements wherever possible. Also, in this regard, it is anticipated that the company would purchase the excess power from The Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) when the co-generation project comes on stream.
Urban Development
Works, which commenced on several streets in New Amsterdam, Rose Hall and Corriverton, are expected to be completed this year. Another $519M has been budgeted under the Urban Development Programme to execute works in Corriverton, Rose Hall, New Amsterdam, Linden, Anna Regina and Georgetown. Also, Bartica, Charity, Parika and Supenaam have been identified for upgrade to the status of secondary towns under a Towns Programme and work will be done for their infrastructure development. A detailed study to establish the current institutional capacity, human resources, and the administrative and financial systems of each area will be done this year. Preliminary work to assess the state of roads, market, stelling, sanitation, waste management sites, and drainage systems will also start this year.
Discussing the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) for the last year, Kowlessar said the government managed to implement 95% of the works, which were budgeted at $16.8B.
He said some of the key achievements were:
Physical Infrastructure
The rehabilitation and upgrade of the road network was one of the highlights of 2003, according to Kowlessar, when rehabilitation of the road link between Mahaica and Rosignol began. An estimated $1.2B of the $4.5B budgeted for the project was spent on widening the shoulders and levelling about 19km of the 65km road.
Also, about $74M was spent on designs for 152km of roadway between New Amsterdam and Moleson Creek, while $167M was expended to begin work on the conceptual design for an alternative southern entrance to Georgetown.
Work also began on the four-lane highway that will stretch from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Mandela Avenue, and on the road from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to the Best Hospital.
More than $1.7B was also spent on the construction and rehabilitation of bridges. Nine bridges and culverts were completed along the East Coast and East Bank Highways while about $81M was spent to rehabilitate community bridges countrywide.
In the air transport sector, over $1B was spent for the rehabilitation of Runway 2 and other works at the Cheddi Jagan Airport.
In the maritime sector over $300M was spent to improve maritime facilities and services, including the construction of a new stelling at Leguan and the rehabilitation of stellings at Parika and Leguan. Repair works were also done on the MB Baramani, MV Barima, MV Torani, MV Malali and MB Sandaka.
Kowlessar said in preparation for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and EU financed sea defence programmes over $166M was spent to begin the development of a shore-zone management system. The funds were also used to conduct hydro-graphic surveys between and start final designs for new sea defence structures.
An additional $435M was used for the rehabilitation of other critical sections of the river and sea defence system.
The NDIB spent $415 million on several projects, including the rehabilitation of 300 miles of canals and drains.
The social sector
Education: Last year, the IDB-funded Basic Education Access Management and Support Systems (BEAMS) project was launched to improve the general standard of education in Guyana. The project focuses particularly on increasing literacy and numeracy skills in the most under-served and impoverished regions of Guyana.
Over $500M was spent towards school management and budget planning as well as to build, rehabilitate, extend, and renovate pilot schools under the Secondary School Reform Programme (SSRP).
Under the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded Guyana Basic Education Training (GBET), almost $100M was used to complete the establishment of distance education units; while under the Guyana Education Access Project (GEAP), $470M was spent to rehabilitate and construct schools and for institutional strengthening of the education ministry.
The Ministry of Education also spent $430M on capital works, including the rehabilitation of Winfer Gardens Primary School, which was only reopened recently. Work was also done on the Uitvlugt Primary School, St Sidwell's Primary School, St Gabriel's Nursery School and St Stanislaus College. The ministry also built schools at Meten-Meer-Zorg, Viva La Force, Ridge, Wakenaam, Dora, Soesdyke, Cotton Tree and Moleson Creek.
Health: Phase one of the construction of a new hospital at New Amsterdam was almost completed. Construction of the hospital is being funded from a Japanese Grant of $1.2B.
A CIDA-funded programme to strengthen the health system was also launched, focusing on home care, prevention and management of HIV/AIDS and STIs, the prevention and management of tuberculosis and education and health administration.
Housing: Under the IDB programme, $1B was used to complete roughly 3,100 house lots at Tuschen, Non Pariel and Best Village and to construct roads, drains and structures at Diamond, Golden Grove, Foulis, Good Hope, Hope/Waterloo Experiment, Pomona, Anna Regina, Charity and Amelia's Ward. Also, 9,171 house lots were designed at Zeelugt, Tuschen, Caneville, Block 22 Wismar, Sophia, Parfaite/ Harmonie, Hampshire South, Belvedere, Hope and Williamsburg South.
Water: Government spent over $2.1B to improve the water supply in the country. A substantial amount of the money was used for the completion of major water systems at Bartica, Eccles and LBI. The funds were also used to finalise designs for the rehabilitation of the Georgetown sewerage and water generation and distribution systems, among other projects.
Economic Advancement and Poverty Reduction Programmes
Close to $108M was used under the Poor Rural Communities Support Services Project (PRCSSP), to establish a revolving credit facility, to execute drainage and irrigation works and to facilitate community development.
Under the Linden Economic Advancement Programme (LEAP), $200M was spent to replace a collapsed culvert at West Watooka. The money was also used to organise workshops and train persons in the surrounding areas.
Another $45M was used on roads, footpaths and water supply in selected areas, while close to $292M was spent under the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) to rehabilitate roads, complete multipurpose buildings, and commence or complete school buildings, day care centres and a market.