News Releases

Aug 9, 2007

Guyana and IDB Sign US$900,000 technical cooperation agreement to finance studies for an IIRSA road program

Project in agenda of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA)

Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank signed a US$900,000 technical cooperation agreement to finance studies for an IIRSA road program in Guyana to improve transportation between the north and south regions, from Georgetown to Lethem.

Improvement of the transportation link will enhance regional integration, facilitate access to medical and educational facilities in the hinterland and strengthen the environment for private sector investments as a means to support economic and social development.

This project will support the completion of studies to determine the possibility of improving critical transportation infrastructure in Guyana. The technical cooperation resources will finance pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for evaluating the options of the Georgetown-Lethem road rehabilitation or improvement. The pre-feasibility study will prioritize viable alternatives. The feasibility studies will fund the preparation of indigenous, environmental, social, economic and technical studies to evaluate the rehabilitation or improvement alternatives.

The Boa Vista-Bonfim-Lethem-Linden-Georgetown Highway was defined as an anchor project  in the context of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA) created in 2000 during the First Meeting of South American Presidents.

The Presidents of the South American countries approved a joint action plan that includes a portfolio of projects categorized into 10 integration and development hubs and for each, an anchor project, essential to catalyze the synergies of the projects in the hub. Guyana participates in the Guyanese Shield Hub together with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela.

In December 2004 the Presidents of the South American countries approved the “Agenda by Consensus 2005 - 2010,” whose 26th project is the update of the feasibility and environmental studies of the Guyanese segment of the Georgetown - Boa Vista highway. In the long term, the improvement of the transportation link is envisioned to increase integration between Guyana and Brazil.

This non-reimbursable technical cooperation operation was approved under the IDB’s Fund for the Financing of Technical Cooperation for Initiatives for Regional Infrastructure Integration. The Ministry of Public Works and Communications of Guyana will carry out this project. The Government of Guyana counterpart financing will total US$225,000.