TECHNICIANS from several agencies and senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs are working closely to ensure that all requirements are in place for an international port of entry to be realised for the Guyana/Brazil road project.
The high profile committee has been established for the implementation of the Guyana/Brazil International Road Transport Agreement and were on a three- day visit to Lethem early this month to examine the road project for a “visual appreciation” of the Linden/Lethem road for further development, an official said.
Some of the stakeholders are the Guyana Defence Force, Transport and Harbours Department; Customs; insurance companies; the Georgetown and Lethem chambers of commerce; the Lands and Survey Commission; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several departments of the Guyana Police Force (stations and outposts) covering traffic, immigration, general duties and communication.
Mr. Joseph Quamina, Head of Public Sector Security, Ministry of Home Affairs, told the Chronicle that all the objectives of the trip were realised and the team had a first hand look at the environment.
The exercise was intended to gather logistics in the implementation process, which includes the construction of buildings and sanitary facilities along the road and upgrading the road and bridges.
They also looked at the development of a road map of physical features of the stretch leading to Brazil and the identification of locations for the establishment of police stations and outposts, customs, immigration, and forest wardens checkpoints, truck and bus stops and sanitary conveniences, the official said.
The team in addition looked at earmarking possible locations for traffic signs along the road that will link Guyana to Brazil.
The highway will also be complemented with health facilities.
Quamina told the Government Information News Agency (GINA) shortly after the team returned that they looked at the structural condition of the road during the rainy season; steepness of the hills; the natural environment and man-made factors which will influence the state of the road; the location, size and physical state of bridges and the road bends.
"We needed to have a good idea of the status of the road to make recommendations for improvement wherever necessary," he told GINA.
He also pointed out to the agency that the security of the road is of utmost importance to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the designated national competent authority for implementation of the agreement, and acknowledged Mekdeci Mining Company (MMC) for its hard work in transforming the road into an all weather thoroughfare, in the process drastically reducing the time for travelling from one end to the other to about 12 hours.
Prior to this it took some two to three days to traverse the road.
Construction of the bridge across the Takutu River has begun and the Ministry of Public Works and Communications has budgeted for building a multi-agency complex at the Takutu Bridge, to start this year.
The bridge will allow for a road link from Bon Fim in the Brazilian state of Roraima to Lethem and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva also reiterated his commitment to the completion of the Guyana-Brazil road in August 2003.
Guyana and Brazil entered into an agreement to facilitate the movement of goods and passengers between the two countries on February 10, 2003.
Through implementation of this agreement, Brazil gains trade access to the Atlantic and road linkages with Suriname and French Guyana, while Guyana establishes integration of the coastal and hinterland regions and gains access to Brazil and other Latin American countries via the Brazil network of roads.
The Linden/Lethem road will enhance trade and give Guyana's tourism sector a much needed boost, officials said.
They said the development of the Linden/Soesdyke highway was the key to the successful implementation of the agreement between the two countries.