Mobilising for Berbice bridge almost finished
Stabroek News
April 12, 2007
Site preparation work for building the bridge across the Berbice River has been progressing satisfactorily and the contractor is in the process of procuring and mobilising materials and equipment.
So said Chairperson of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI), Geeta Singh-Knight in a press release yesterday.
She said that the contractor has almost completed mobilisation, including site preparation (preparation of the MMA compound), shipping of critical equipment and machinery, manufacturing of specialised equipment, registration of the company and employment of local personnel.
The design phase, dealing with the aspects such as bridge configuration and setting out, pontoon design, anchoring system design, bridge protection design, piers and abutments, has been completed, the release said.
The Chairperson said that during the months of May and July a number of system designs are to be reviewed, including the bridge retractor system design, drive control system design, traffic control system design, emergency power supply and finalisation of the abutment design.
She said that currently there are ten 40' containers of bridge components and materials in the country ready to be transported to the bridge site. When they arrive, sections of the bridge will be assembled right away and transported to the bridge alignment areas for erection.
The BBCI on August 23 last year presented a cheque for US$5.4M to the consortium of Bosch Rexroth BV of the Netherlands and Mabey & Johnson of the United Kingdom representing the first tranche of payment for the design and construction of the bridge.
This event followed the full financial closure of the US$40M committed to the project on August 1. The bridge is scheduled to be completed during the first half of 2008.
The Berbice Bridge will be located downstream of the existing ferry stellings, starting from D'Edward Village on the western bank to Crab Island on the eastern bank. The width of the crossing at this point is in excess of 1.5 kilometres.
Access roads will be constructed on both sides of the river to connect the bridge with the main highway network. On the west side the access road will be approximately 0.8 kilometres long, and on the east side the access road will be 3.5 kilometres long and will be built through the existing mangrove swamp on Crab Island.
Singh-Knight noted that after the construction, the BBCI will operate the bridge as a toll bridge using a toll-determining formula that secures sufficient revenue to cover all operating and maintenance costs, return on investment and repayment on financing.
On May 17 last year, the contract for the design/construction was finalised with the successful consortium. BBCI has also contracted ND Lea (Vancouver, Canada), which is associated with CEMCO, as the independent engineer for the project's supervision.
This firm will ensure that all the work done is to the specification required for the project.
BBCI's six common shareholders are the Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO), the NIS, the Hand in Hand Fire Insurance Company, Secure International Finance, Demerara Engineers & Contractors Limited (a subsidiary of DDL), and New GPC.
Other investors in the project are Republic Bank Limited, the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, Citizen's Bank, Demerara Bank, Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), Hand in Hand Trust Corporation, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the New Building Society (NBS).
Other Directors of BBCI with Singh are Keith Evelyn, Paul Cheong, Egbert Carter, Cecil Kennard, CCH and P.E. Fredericks.
In December 2005, the Government of Guyana passed the Berbice Bridge Act and in July 2006, the Government executed a Concession Agreement with the BBCI for the Berbice Bridge Project. The toll bridge will be operated under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) arrangement for 21 years following which the bridge will be transferred to the Government.