The $11 Billion Diamond to Buzz Bee Dam four-lane highway on the East Bank of Demerara was commissioned on Monday afternoon, creating yet another road link between the East Bank and the City.

The highway spans 8.6 kilometres and features over 30 reinforced concrete bridges and two major roundabouts. The project was split into six lots and a  consortium of contractors-GuyAmerica Construction, VALS Construction, China Railway First Group Co., Ltd., NABI Construction, and H. Nauth and Sons Contracting Services-completed the project.

The Diamond to Buzz Bee Dam road follows the Mandela to Eccles and Eccles to Diamond sections of the highway and contracts valued at $80.4 billion and $40.5 billion were awarded earlier this year to construct the next sections of the highway from Buzz Bee Dam to Land of Canaan and Land of Canaan to Soesdyke.

Speaking during the commissioning of the road, Minister in the Ministry of Housing, Susan Rodgrigues said the East Bank highway road network was conceptualized in 2009 when the East Bank housing development was now taking shape. She said the aim was to ease the traffic congestion that was inevitable.

“So the need for this highway, didn’t arise within the last five years, the need for this highway existed since 2009 during the course of the massive Infrastructure development that started on the East Bank, under a young Minister of Housing, now President, and so since then we needed this highway and the people of the East Bank needed this road network to ease traffic congestion”, Minister Rodrigues said.

The Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, said it follows highways right across the country which are being supervised by his Ministry. He said the highways and bridges that are being built are changing the way communities can be accessed.

“These projects alone have changed the face of trade and transport forever. Each highway, each road, each bridge, is a more modern and a more connected Guyana. So Infrastructure therefore, is not just about easing traffic, it is about building prosperity,” Mr. Croal stated.

In delivering the feature address, President Irfaan Ali said the road will lay the foundation for a modern Guyana. He said that the infrastructure programme being undertaken, especially with the highways, have exceeded expectations.

“This road will bring relief, it will bring efficiency it will bring opportunities and it will increase the value of your value of your properties. And let me assure you, that the relief does not stop here, very soon we are going to open the new Demerara Harbour Bridge, imagine that, another critical choke point on the East Bank corridor will be eased, another bottle in the flow of goods, services and people will be removed,” the President stated.

The President described the road as a game changer and said his government will press forward with its infrastructural programme in spite of criticism.

“Our vision is of a Guyana where road transport does not choke our development but rather accelerates it. The Guyana where highways are not just four-lanes but four-lanes of opportunities,” the President stated.

The highway was designed by the Projects Division of the Ministry of Housing and Water.

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