Dubbed the “most modern asphalt plant of the region”, a newly arrived German-made asphalt plant will have the power and capability to produce approximately 160 tonnes of asphalt per hour — almost four times faster than the current one.
According to previous reports, the new Asphalt Plant was procured through public tender by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC), signalling an increase in operations and growth in demand by the company.
Presently, the Special Projects Unit under the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) utilises almost 60 per cent of the asphalt produced by the company.
Guyana Standard was informed that as an infrastructural investment, the plant is expected to provide efficiency in the continuity of supply of materials to the Ministry in the execution of road construction and rehabilitation, without compromising quality or price.
MoPI says that the German-made plant was inspected on Monday at the Demerara Shipping Wharf.
General Manager within Demerara Harbour Bridge Company Rawlston Adams noted that the asphalt plant will be a major asset for Guyana. According to Adams, the plant will reduce construction costs of asphalt surfaced roads. This is attributed to the specifications of the plant.
Additionally, the plant will be in conformity with the demands of local and international markets.
The General Manager mentioned, “all of the parts for the plant have arrived in Guyana and it’s only a matter of time before the Corporation finalises all of the paperwork and begin delivering the equipment to Garden of Eden.”
With the completion of the installation design being spearheaded by the DHBC, tender for the construction phase of the asphalt plant is expected to soon begin. Installation of the modern asphalt plant is expected to be completed by September.
During a visit to Germany earlier in the year, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, along with the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Kenneth Jordan and Adams, conducted an inspection of the asphalt plant to ensure it met all required specifications.
In 2016, the DHBC’s asphalt plant produced a total of 42,471.06 tonnes of asphalt with $930,206,045 worth of the material being sold to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and $588,952,635 from other sales, taking the total sale of asphaltic concrete to $1,519,158,680.
