An engineering design required for the critical Linden to Lethem Road will cost an estimated US$10 million, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds has disclosed. He said the Guyana and Brazil governments are yet to complete discussions on the financing of the critical project.
A Joint Working Group established under the Guyana-Brazil Corporation Agreement had submitted the proposal. In December 2012, the Working Group on Infrastructure Projects was established following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries.
But with this proposal being tabled, along with recommendations for feasibility studies to be conducted on hydropower development in the Upper and Middle Mazaruni, a Joint Commission chaired by Ambassador Elisabeth Harper would monitor the various activities. The commission was established in July 2013.
Speaking at the National Communications Network (NCN) during a recent press conference, Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said the redesigning and construction of the Linden to Lethem Road and the development of hydropower stations at Middle and Upper Mazaruni are interconnected.
“It (the road) will cost a handsome sum and we at this point in time, we are not able to increase our debt,” she said but explained that if the hydropower development project is feasible, the road project will be accelerated. “So we will be able to get our road, get some energy, sell some energy, and get some revenue. So if we are able to do this the right way, have all of the negative impacts addressed, we would be in good shape,” an optimistic Rodrigues-Birkett said.
