Disconnect in bridge talks
Berbice Chamber says not consulted, Xavier differs
Stabroek News
June 19, 2004
The Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCC&DA) is adamant that it received no official correspondence inviting it to participate in discussions about a new location for the Berbice River bridge.
"We were consulted, so to speak...but the question of the new location is the issue," BCC&DA Public Relations Officer, Norman Semple told Stabroek News on Thursday when contacted on proposals for bridging the Berbice River. The chamber is maintaining that it was never consulted particularly in relation to the new proposed location for the bridge at Crab Island, which it considers to be unsuitable for such a project.
According to Semple, at no meeting of the chamber's executive or council was any correspondence for consultations on the project brought up.
Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Anthony Xavier in a statement to the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Wednesday expressed surprise at statements in other media attributed to the Berbice Chamber claiming that it was not consulted about the location of the bridge.
According to the release from GINA, the minister highlighted that the consultants were in the ancient county on numerous occasions to have engagements with major stakeholders.
"I am very perturbed after what I read in the newspaper because I was advised by the consultants that they did the feasibility study and that everyone was consulted," GINA quoted Xavier as saying.
According to Semple, the general aesthetics of the new proposed location near the Sheet Anchor area are not favourable due to the sling mud and trees located in that area.
He made reference to correspondence recently received by the chamber from a Dutch firm, Hydraulics and Control Systems (HYCOS) which stated that a bridge so near to the estuary of the river would be a likely target of frequent collisions with boats, apart from being required to have more openings to facilitate the movement of vessels.
According to the letter, HYCOS BV, formally EBR Techniek, suggested that the further north one goes with a floating bridge idea, the greater the environmental impact of the bridge's construction will be.
The company says it submitted several proposals to the government in 2003 and 2004 for a bridge and is said to be in favour of a site between Providence on the eastern bank and Gelderland on the western.
Other advantages of this area, according to HYCOS BV, include good road connections leading to the town, a perfect area for traffic handling and toll booths and the ability to handle a reasonable amount of river traffic.
However, Xavier in an invited comment on Thursday said Hycos BV's letter merely contains opinions which it is entitled to.
He insisted that the chamber had been invited to a meeting in his office on April 30 at 3 pm at which team leader of the Louis Berger Group, Pierre Bouchaud, presented the conclusions of feasibility studies for the Berbice River crossing.
According to Xavier, it was at this meeting, to which the BCC&DA President Gyandat Marray had been invited by way of letter of April 27, delivered via fax, that the feasibility analysis was thoroughly explained.
The GINA release further said that Xavier had identified the D'Edward Village to Crab Island link as being the most economically viable option as highlighted in the studies.
The study is also said to have catered for some environmental concerns as highlighted by stakeholder groups.