No increase in cost of new Demerara Harbour Bridge; August 31 completion date on track

Last Updated on Sunday, 8 June 2025, 12:04 by Writer

Despite international shipping delays that affected the arrival of construction materials, there would be no increase in the cost of the new Demerara Harbour Bridge, whose completion is still set for August 31, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said Saturday night.

He told reporters after the construction of the New Demerara River Bridge’s final bridge tower (pier-35) that there would be no change in the original contract price of US$261 million for the new east-west corridor. However, there had been international shipping delays through the Suez Canal in Egypt and the Panama Canal.

“On budget! There is not another extension of price on anything for the project…We are finishing the project within budget,” he said when asked by Demerara Waves Online News.

Passing through the Suez Canal had become too risky due to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and a severe drought had affected the movement of cargo ships through the Panama Canal.

The minister acknowledged that the Guyana government and the contractor, China Railway Construction Corporation (International), had had “very tough conversations but we have been able to work through all the issues and we are finishing within budget.” He said neither the government nor the contracting firm absorbed any cost.

Mr Edghill said confidently that the new high-span four-lane bridge was more than 90 percent completed. He said everything that was needed for the project was in Guyana. The bridge was originally due to be completed by December 31, 2024 but the minister stressed the importance of quality work. The girders on the western side of the bridge are already installed. Mr Edghill said that after all the girders had been installed on the eastern side the bridge would be completely assembled. Next, he said the bridge would be surfaced with asphaltic concrete with lights and rails installed.

Of the 1,393 workers who are employed by China Railway Construction Corporation (International) to build that transport infrastructure, 815 of them are Chinese. The supervisory firm is the Italian company, Politecnica, whose Team Leader is Dr Paul Zanule and Resident Engineer. “The quality is OK. It’s according to the specifications that were given for the project so all that we are seeing is done to what has been specified for the project,” Mr Edghill told reporters. He said there was no instance when any aspect of the bridge was not being constructed to international standards.

Meanwhile, Mr Edghill said last Monday, final civil works began to ensure smooth transition of traffic from the new bridge into the West Bank Demerara roundabout. On the eastern side, he said the traffic would feed into a roundabout that was under construction at the Heroes Highway. “There are several moving parts because the bridge in itself is one thing; people being able to access it and use it efficiently and safely is the other thing,” he said.

Fellow Public Works Minister Deodat Indar said the bridge would rest on 62 piers. The bridge has 17 cable stay sections totalling 570 metres across the channel of which 350 metres had been completed.