-by Kyler Rollins
Works on the Corentyne Highway, which is being expanded into a four-lane road from Palmyra to Moleson Creek, are progressing ahead of schedule.
This is according to Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Mandanlall Ramraj, during a site visit on Tuesday where he revealed that the project is over 20 per cent complete.
The minister says drainage works on both shoulders of the highway have already been completed, with the next phase involving the placement of crusher run.
“This contractor is moving very fast indeed and so we are very happy that they are on schedule. This second lot is about 23 per cent and we should have been about 22.8 per cent. So they are above where they should have been,” he said.
Upon completion, he noted that the four-lane highway will bring much needed relief to residents, as well as improved connectivity and commerce between Guyana and Suriname. Meanwhile, the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) team executing the project has committed to completing the works on schedule.
A company representative explained that they had to overcome a number of challenges during the past 11 months of construction.
“We’ve got some challenge, sort of like the demolition and the shipping of things. But somehow despite those challenges we are just trying out effort and we are trying to present the country with the people with the expectation of our effort,” the representative said.