At the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the engineering company WSP Caribbean presented the preliminary studies for constructing a bridge across the Corantijn River to the ministers of public works of Guyana and Suriname. Following the presentations, ministerial-level decisions were made with the backing of the presidents of Guyana and Suriname. The 5 companies will be asked to submit their final proposals to the Ministry of Public Works (OW) within 3 months, it has been decided. This preparation is currently underway.
The legal, economic, social, and technological preparatory investigations will be carried out under a contract with the engineering company WSP. The bridge will cost about US$ 300 million and have a length of nearly 7 km, according to estimates. It will take 20 to 30 years for tolls to cover this. As a result, more financing is needed for this. This was the recurring theme throughout the lectures, with a focus on the importance of considering the risks. Five massive construction firms have registered, and each of them complies with the requirements of the expression of interest. According to OW, a preliminary offer has already been made for this project.
The final design, the budget, and the PPP model must all be included in the proposal (collection model). The bridge will only be put out to bid if it can also be planned, financed, built, and maintained. According to minister Riad Nurmohamed, the corporation is therefore free to describe how they would incur additional costs. A joint decision will be taken six weeks after the proposals have been evaluated. To build the bridge, the best bid will be chosen.
