The Inter-Development Bank(IDB) is still seeking a financier for a pre-feasibility study of the Guyana/Brazil road after funding was refused through the IDB's Italian Fund.
Sergio Varas-Olea, representative of the IDB, explained on Monday that the IDB offered to seek financing for the pre-feasibility study of the Guyana/Brazil road.
Varas-Olea stated that a grant(below US half million) was sought through the Italian Fund, one of the IDB's special Funds.
This was after Guyana and Brazil jointly prepared a proposal and submitted it to the IDB.
But the grant was not approved under the Italian Fund since according to Varas-Olea, the managers of the Fund noted that they had other priorities and could not fund the study. Hence, financing was not secured through the Italian Fund. The IDB, however, is still looking for other financiers to fund the study.
Varas-Olea explained that grant money is proving more difficult to get so they are hoping to attract financing from a Trust Fund.
Geoffrey Da Silva, director of the Guyana Office for Investment, noted that the grant being sought was some US$450,000.
At present the Guyana-Brazil road is paved with laterite and there are wooden bridges over the creeks to facilitate use of the road.
Both Brazil and Guyana had sought funding to complete a full feasibility study but were told that a pre-feasibility study must be done first, according to Da Silva.
The pre-feasibility study will assess the economic possibilities of the Guyana-Brazil road while a full feasibility study will detail the types of projects the road will facilitate.
At the moment Guyana and Brazil are in the process of completing the Takutu bridge to facilitate the movement of traffic from both sides.