Guyana, Suriname Presidents map way forward for Corentyne River bridge

The leaders of Guyana and Suriname have decided that ministers from both neighbouring South American nations would have to hold further talks on key issues for the construction of a US$300 million bridge across the Corentyne River.

Major decisions were take by President Irfaan Ali and his Surinamese counterpart, Chandrikapersad Santokhi in talks held at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara on Saturday.

“The Presidents instructed the responsible team of Ministers to enter the next stage of this project by engaging in discussions in relation to terms of pricing, technical aspects, financing and operational modalities with the shared objective of optimizing on affordability and concessionality,” according to a joint statement.

The leaders also said that experts of both countries would also jointly work towards a political and legal framework, start the supervisory tendering process, and drafting of the agreement regarding the Board that would jointly manage the bridge.

While the Joint statement said “clear timelines for finalization of these activities have been set” none was released to the public.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Public Works on both sides, according to the statement, would continue their work to lead negotiations, gather data, monitor progress and report to Presidents Ali and Santokhi.

Mr Santokhi is already on record as saying that construction of the bridge from Moleson Creek in Guyana to South Drain in Suriname would start before year-end.

Two of five pre-qualified companies- Ballast Nedam and Chinese-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation- had submitted proposals to build the bridge but later reportedly said that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model was not feasible, leaving Guyana and Suriname to search for financing

Saturday’s meeting between Presidents Santokhi and Ali followed discussions  by a Joint Ministerial Committee meeting that was held in Guyana on March 19, 2024.