Linden/Lethem road works to commence shortly; Linden-Soesdyke feasibility study halted

Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 June 2017, 13:10 by Denis Chabrol

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Geoffrey Vaughn

Commuters including residents, tourists, miners and business proprietors can expect a vastly improved carriageway as the first phase of the long-awaited Linden/Lethem road project is expected to commence shortly, a  senior official of the Public Infrastructure Ministry said.

Permanent Secretary of Guyana’s Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Geoffrey Vaughn explained that the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the government will advertise shortly for a consultant to review the existing studies for the works. Subsequently tenders will be sent out for works to commence on the Linden/ Lethem road.

Further, the feasibility study for the Linden Soesdyke Highway rehabilitation has been put on hold. Vaughn explained that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is currently revising the scope of works on the Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue Road Project Lots six and seven.

He noted that it was under the loan for this project that monies were allocated for the feasibility study for the Linden Soesdyke highway. Due to this set back the feasibility study has also has also been halted.

“It was a project that would have been falling under the IDB (Inter-American Development) loan of 2741 but there is some re-scoping of loan 2741 with the government and the IDB. So once the re-scoping is completed then we’ll determine where the feasibility study will be done for the Linden Soesdyke road,” Vaughn was quoted as saying by the Department of Public Information/ Government Information Agency ((DPI)/GINA),

In his 2016 budget speech, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, disclosed that there will be a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of the 47 -year-old Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

In 2017 government has budgeted $14.1 billion for the continued development and maintenance of roads and bridges, of which $2.3 billion has been earmarked for capital projects in the hinterland.