Five companies shortlisted for construction of Guyana-Suriname bridge

Last Updated on Wednesday, 1 March 2023, 21:38 by Denis Chabrol

The Trinidad-based engineering consultancy firm, WSP Caribbean, has picked five companies to construct the Corentyne River bridge that would link Guyana and Suriname, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill confirmed briefly late Wednesday night.

The names of the companies were not immediately available, but Starnieuws reported on Wednesday that the two-lane bridge could cost at least US$300 million which means that additional financing would have to be sought. The companies are now expected to submit their final proposals within three months.

Suriname’s Public Works Minister Riad Nurmohamed reportedly stated that the proposal must contain the final design, budget and the PPP model. The bridge is being put out to tender on the condition that it may be designed, built, financed and maintained and so, according to the Public Works Minister, company is free to indicate how it  will incur more costs.

The evaluation of the proposals will take 6 weeks, after which a joint decision will be taken based on the best offer, Starnieuws reported.

Under the proposed Public Private Partnership (PPP) deal, the investors would recover their capital injection through tolls over 20 to 30 years.

Starnieuws said WSP Caribbean presented the preliminary studies for building the bridge to the Ministers of Public Works of the two neighbouring South American nations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital.

WSP Caribbean was hired in May, 2022 to carry out the legal, economic, social and technical preliminary studies for the construction of the 7 kilometre bridge