Proposed hikes in Berbice bridge tolls not in line with contract

Opposition Leader President Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday said the huge hikes in tolls announced by the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) are not in keeping with the 20-year contract he signed with the company while he was president in 2006 and he called on the government to press the company on how it arrived at the figures.

“That increase is not part of the contract. There is no way [in] that financial model that increase is catered for… it is not only unconscionable it is criminal,” Jagdeo told a press conference at his Church Street, Georgetown office.

“It says under the PPP model, you have it here… what it was and where it would end up in 2026. The only two years you would have increases were those two years and by 6.4 percent and then 17 percent,” he added as he pointed to a graph of the projected tolls from 2006 to 2026.