Despite some setbacks, technical personnel engaged in laying the 540-kilometre fibre-optic cable from Lethem to Providence are looking to complete this aspect of the job by next month.
Overall, the government is hoping to have the lines fully powered by August, by when all state offices would access high-speed Internet connection. The project will be dedicated exclusively to state operations. Two more contractors, Bovell Construction and Dallip Trading, were recently hired to accelerate the laying of the cable. To date, approximately 50 per cent of the overall works are completed. Dax Engineering, Mekdeci Machinery and Construction, and Dynamic Engineering are the other contractors who were initially procured to lay the cable. Each contractor is now being paid based on the individual distance covered, thereby serving as an incentive to their accelerating the works.
Technical advisor to the Transport and Hydraulics Minister, Walter Willis, who is overseeing the project, told Guyana Times International on April 07th that, although a little behind schedule, the works are moving ahead. He explained that one of the main delays was caused by the breakdown of the imported ‘trenchers’, which are used to dig trenches for laying pipes or cables, or for drainage. However, the contractor has since repaired the equipment, and the works are moving ahead.
Laying of the cable is being done in five sections: from Lethem to Annai; Annai to Kurupukari; Kurupukari to Mabura; Mabura to Wisroc Junction, Linden; and Linden to Providence. Lot One is 140 kilometres long; Lot Two, 100 km; Lot Three, 120 km; Lot Four, 100 km; and Lot Five, 110 km. Lot One has been completed, and work is about to begin on Lots Two and Three. Lot Three includes laying the cable across the Kurupukari River. In Lot Four, the contractor has already laid the 100 km; while, in Lot Five, from Wisroc to Providence, 50 per cent of the cable has been buried, and 50 per cent has been suspended.
When laying of the cable is completed, the Guyana government will proceed with the next stage, to be done in two phases by the state and by the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. These would include the joining of the cables, the installation of equipment, and the establishment of sub-stations; after which testing would be done before powering up the lines.
Project Manager Alexei Ramotar, when asked for an update on the work, told this newspaper that it is proceeding “as expected”. He noted that US$6 million has been budgeted for the project; and, to date, about half of this amount has been exhausted. He related that the government is still seeking funding for the coastal component to complement the Lethem/Providence fibre-optic cable, but it is moving ahead as planned.
The state is hoping that, by June, works could start on this aspect, whereby a ‘fibre ring’ would be established around Georgetown strictly to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to all government offices. Previously, the state reported that the data centre to be set up under this aspect of the project would have VOIP and data conferencing capabilities, especially for the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen and Tain campuses. The project is part of an agreement signed several months ago between President Bharrat Jagdeo and former Brazilian President, Lula Da Silva.
The project is part of a larger government plan to improve Internet access in Guyana. The Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T) recently launched a high-speed Internet service after laying a US$60 million fibre-optic cable network that runs from Suriname to Guyana. The Brazil/Guyana fibre-optic cable, with its huge bandwidth, will be dedicated to e-governance, and will enable citizens to electronically find public information, download government forms, contact their representatives, and access services relating to pensions, passports and birth certificates, among other things. The Brazilian side of the cable was installed by Globonet, a subsidiary of Oi, Brazil’s largest telecoms operator and the biggest wire line telephone company in South America (in terms of total service lines).
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