Thousands of Guyanese will, from today, enjoy another promise fulfilled by the PPP/C Government. Early this morning, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali officially commissioned the Eccles to Diamond Interlink Road on the East Bank of Demerara.
The $5 billion project was conceptualised by the Head of State in 2013, while he was the Minister of Housing and Water. The road begins from the fourth bridge along the Mocha Arcadia Access Road and runs right through to 6th Avenue, Diamond. It was abandoned by the former Coalition Administration, but was resumed when the PPP/C Administration took office again, in August 2020.
“When we left office, the foundation for the road was completed. For five years nothing happened, and we came back and completed the project,” the Head of State said in brief remarks.
In addition to easing the traffic congestion on the East Bank, new lands for housing and commercial development will be opened along the road’s corridor.
“This area will be a reservoir for job creation also. We will have more than 300- 400 acres of land developed specifically for industrial development, and then we have commercial development, and the from the type of proposals that we’ve already received, you will have hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of jobs created along the corridor of this road. So, this road, while it is permanent in nature, it is a stop-gap for what is coming.”
The Head of State noted that the health and wellness of citizens is a priority, further disclosing that talks with contractors about having a safe jogging path created along the road have commenced.
President Ali said that the road is part of a larger project which will create links to several parts of the coast, and will offer significant relief to thousands of commuters. He noted that the anticipated traffic congestion and the growth in the traffic will be facilitated with good infrastructure and good urban planning.
“We are now in the process of awarding a contract to widen and reinforce the Eccles link that would be connected to the Mandela link…the total investment of that corridor is $16 billion…now while that is going on we are looking at expanding the Eccles Road to the East Coast corridor. So, there’s the new expansion from Ogle that will also start next year that initially will come to Eccles, and then connect further on to Diamond, and then to Timehri.
So, the interconnection here is that from Diamond you will be able to go straight to Ogle on the East Coast, go straight to Mandela to get back into Georgetown, or head to the airport.”
Also giving brief remarks was Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal. He explained that the commissioning of the road will directly impact 18,000 residents.
“At the level of the CHPA, we were also aware of the challenges the lack of access roads had on the housing developments that we are pursuing in this area. Happily, those worries are considerably lessened this morning.”
Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues,. MP, shared similar sentiments.
Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council Chairman Ms. Indrani Ramarine along with other residents in the community praised the government for the initiative.
