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He, however, said that this will soon change as the government is building a new four-lane Demerara River crossing.
On Wednesday, hours before the President’s address at the Independence celebrations at Damon Square in Anna Regina, a US $260 million contract was signed with a Chinese joint venture – China Railway Construction Corporation Limited – to construct the bridge.
This crossing will be the largest infrastructural transport project ever undertaken in Guyana to be funded by the government.
And President Ali emphasised that the benefits of the bridge are well worth the cost. It is expected to improve the productivity of the commuters from Regions Two and Three, who travel to the capital city of Georgetown or the wider Region Four.
He also noted that with the reduction in excess waiting times, people would be able to spend more time with their families and participate in community life.
“Development and prosperity must bring with it an improvement in your quality of life and you cannot have an improvement in the quality of life if you are sitting for three hours, four hours in traffic,” the Head of State reasoned.
Meanwhile, other major projects include the forthcoming gas-to-energy development, which is expected to halve the cost of electricity and the expansion of Guyana’s urban road network.