Three weeks after a promise was made to have the main carriageway of Wakenaam rehabilitated, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure has made that pledge a reality. Over the weekend, the ministry dispatched a mobile asphalt plant to the Essequibo River island.
The promise was initially made by Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson during a community meeting with residents in Maria Johanna last month.
“I have about $60M in our budget for Wakenaam to fix the main road,” The minister was quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying.
While noting the largest obstacle to the works is the ongoing rainy season, the Public Infrastructure Minister assured Wakenaam residents that the road upgrades will begin at the commencement of the dry season.
On July 11, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Jaipaul Sharma visited Wakenaam to get a firsthand look at the rehabilitative roadworks to be executed. Engineers accompanied Minister Sharma to acquire measurements of the roads on the island to be rehabilitated.
Speaking with DPI, Minister Sharma noted, “Most of the roads here would not have been maintained for the past eight to ten years.”
He shared that the mobile asphalt plant will be transported to Leguan at the completion of road upgrades in Wakenaam.
With a population of approximately 10,000 people, Wakenaam will represent the first Essequibo island to benefit from the recently acquired mobile asphalt plant.
In a Facebook post, Minister Patterson shared some photographs of the plant being transported. He wrote, “Wakenaam, we have arrived! Pay little mind to the naysayers, they all live on smooth comfortable roads – you deserve the same. MoPI “taking care” of business one street at a time. #itsthelittlethings”
