President Irfaan Ali Tuesday described as ‘news to me’ reports out of Suriname that the government in the neighbouring Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country is moving towards financing the construction of a bridge over the Corantijn River despite earlier agreements that the project would be undertaken in collaboration with Guyana.
‘That is news to me,’ Ali told the Guyana-based online publication, Demerara Waves Online News, following a report by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that Suriname’s Public Works and Spatial Planning Minister, Stephen Tsang had told the National Assembly on Monday night of the new initiative regarding the financing of the multi-million dollar project. The Corantijn Bridge is considered one of the most important infrastructure projects for the further economic integration of Suriname and Guyana and it is intended to replace the current ferry connection between South Drain and Moleson Creek while significantly facilitating the movement of goods and passengers between the two countries.
Under the previous Santokhi government, the project was prepared in close cooperation with Guyana.
Tsang did not address the consequences of the position of the Jennifer Greelings-Simons government nor did he announce when any potential new tender will take place during his participation in the budget debate.
‘The government has decided to finance the bridge 100 per cent,’ Tsang said as he responded to questions from legislators during the budget debate, adding that, depending on the chosen financing structure, a new tendering procedure will likely be necessary.
He told legislators that various financing models are still being investigated, including the possibility of toll collection.
‘Several models have been discussed, including regarding toll collection. Everything is still open. All models are being reviewed together with the Ministry of Finance,’ said Tsang, adding ‘the fact is that it must and will be a Surinamese bridge.’
But President Ali told Demerara Waves Online News that ‘I do not know who this minister is’ relying on commitments by his Surinamese counterpart that the the bridge would be built by the two countries and that ‘she was working on finalising their end of the arrangement’.
Asked whether he favoured the latest approach by the Suriname government, Ali dismissed the Surinamese minister’s pronouncement, saying ‘there is only one thing we’re interested in and that is the joint development of the bridge and that was the arrangement from day one’.
Earlier estimates had put the construction of the bridge at US$300 million. In September last year, Suriname and Guyana had agreed to accelerate the construction of the bridge and to revive stalled border negotiations.
A joint statement issued following talks between Presidents Geerlings-Simons and Ali said they recognized the ‘transformative potential for trade, tourism, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges’ of the bridge.