by Andrew Richards
The construction of the bridge across the Takutu River linking Guyana to Brazil is scheduled to commence on August 15.
Stabroek News
August 6, 2001
Brazil, which is funding the construction of the bridge, has awarded the contract to contractor Paulo Humberto Cavalcanti Celestino and the construction company Queiroz Galbao.
Some 300 workers are expected to be involved in the project and the company has begun to mobilise labour and machinery and is putting up accommodation on the Brazil side of the border for its workers.
Guyana Action Party/Working People's Alliance member of parliament, Shirley Melville, who resides in Lethem, said a three-person team paid a visit two weeks ago to the recently elected mayor of Bom Fin, Alfredo Gadelha, and held discussions on general issues including the proposed Takutu bridge.
Questions were raised by the team about the possibility of Guyanese being employed by the construction company.
According to Melville, the Brazilians said they would have to peruse the labour laws of Guyana to ensure they were not breached.
She said Celestino and head of Queiroz Galbao, Jose Lopes, visited Lethem last Wednesday as a follow up to the meeting between the Guyanese and Mayor Gadelha.
Melville said discussions had also been held with local ranchers on the possibility of supplying beef through the Rupununi Livestock Producers Association to the company during the period of construction.
Residents of Lethem and members of its business community have expressed the view that the government needed to provide the Rupununi region with facilities to cater for the impact the completed bridge was likely to have on the community.
Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Anthony Xavier, told Stabroek News, that with the added impetus given towards the construction of the bridge, efforts would be speeded up to have the facilities installed.
The minister also stated that ways would be explored to have Guyanese involved in the work being done, at least on the Guyana side.
He said arrangements were being made with the Brazilian government to have an official turning-of-the-sod ceremony to mark the commencement of construction.
"The Chamber is interested in the development because it will change the way of life of the people in Rupununi," Rupununi Chamber of Commerce executive, Harold D'Aguiar, stated.
He said the residents had not received word, officially or unofficially, from either the regional administration or central government about the developments concerning the Takutu bridge.
D'Aguiar disclosed it was through their close relationship with their Brazilian counterparts that businesspersons in the Rupununi had learnt of the contract being awarded.
Xavier had announced the award of the contract at a Guyana Association of Professional Engineers luncheon recently.
D'Aguiar said what was of concern to the Chamber was the many unanswered questions about the role the people of Rupununi will play during the construction, especially in the contribution of labour and services.
He noted the bridge would give citizens on both sides of the border direct access to each other and trade would be boosted substantially.
The region had to be geared to cope with the increased economic activity, he stressed.
He pointed out that the region did not have a Customs or Immigration office, unlike Brazil, which installed these facilities several years ago.
At present, residents of Lethem and Bom Fin, the bordering town in Brazil, have to use a pontoon to cross the Takutu River. The pontoon is capable of transporting trucks fetching 12,000 kilogrammes of goods.
The crossing takes about three minutes and costs $3,000 per vehicle. Vehicles from Brazil are allowed to enter Guyana's territory, but Guyana-registered vehicles are only allowed up to Bom Fin.
Much inconvenience is suffered by the residents and traders when the pontoon is not working. According to one businesswoman, a truckload of goods would then have to be offloaded and packed into small boats for 20 trips across the Takutu.