Bids have been invited for a 15-kilometre road connecting Mora, Koria and other settlements in Wakapoa, Region Two, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Madanlall Ramraj has announced.
According to a statement posted on his Facebook page, Ramraj met residents to discuss the proposed works and the procurement process for the project, which the government says will involve an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The statement did not provide a precise estimated cost, a construction start date or a completion deadline. It said work was expected to commence following the necessary procurement procedures.
The proposed road follows commitments by President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during earlier outreaches, when residents raised difficulties travelling between settlements and requested better connections.
The government said the road was intended to improve access for families, farmers and schoolchildren, while facilitating the movement of agricultural produce, other goods and services.
“This is the kind of transformation that many persons probably never imagined would come to their communities, and we are extremely happy to be bringing this project into fruition,” Ramraj was quoted as saying.
Ramraj was accompanied by the Regional Chairman, Vice Chairman, engineers and members of the ministry’s technical team, who also discussed the proposed works with residents.
Transport difficulties have long affected Wakapoa, an Indigenous village in the lower Pomeroon whose settlements are spread across islands and waterways.
In an October 2020 feature, Stabroek News described Wakapoa as comprising 20 inhabited islands, with farming, fishing and logging among residents’ livelihoods. Then Deputy Toshao Lloyd Pereira said many roads had been built by hand and questioned why the community could not be provided with excavators to ease the work.
Earlier efforts to connect settlements included a $73.4 million self-help road project opened in May 2013, linking Waipaqua, Yarashima and Myrie.
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