Following a statement by British High Commissioner Greg Quinn that no decision has yet been made on the construction of the road between Linden and Mabura under a United Kingdom-funded project, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson yesterday said that works will commence with local funds already approved in the national budget.
In an article headlined, ‘Paved road from Guyana to Brazil’, this week’s Sunday Chronicle reported Patterson as saying that following the final mission from the UK-Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) programme, it was decided that there will be a paved road between Guyana and Brazil. The article reported that Patterson said that phase one of the project will be launched on October 1st and covers approximately 125 kilometres of the road (Linden to Mabura Hill) and includes a bridge across the Kurupukari River.
In a statement yesterday, however, Quinn said that no decisions have been taken on the next phase of the project. He said that as part of the UKCIF programme, over the last year, the UK has supported initial design work for the construction of the road between Linden and Mabura and the bridge at Kurupukari. The project is being implemented by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
