| …as deadline looms for critical report on hydro, Linden/Lethem roadAs a deadline looms later this month for a critical report on a number of large scale infrastructure collaborative projects, between Guyana and Brazil, a team from that neighbouring country met Thursday with President Donald Ramotar to apprise him of the situation.President Donald Ramotar in talks with governor of the State of Roraima Jose de Anchieta Junior (second from left)The projects include the Georgetown to Lethem road, a deep water harbour and a hydroelectricity project.Governor of the State of Roraima, Jose de Anchieta Junior, was among the team that met with the President, Government announced on Thursday. Also there were Brazilian Ambassador to Guyana, Luiz Seixas De Andrade.The projects were conceptualised during bilateral discussions involving the former administration and Brazil’s President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, and according to the Roraima State Governor, are of great importance to both countries.It was agreed, for example, that the hydro project, once established, will source cheap energy for Guyana and supply power to northern Brazil.In February, the two countries set a June target for anticipated proposals including timelines for implementation of the major infrastructural projects. Spearheading the initiatives is the Brazil-Guyana Working Group on Infrastructural Projects.The working group was established with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and the Brazilian Minister of External Relations, Antonio Patriota in December last year.It was agreed then that the group would have submitted its report by the first quarter of 2013.Included in the report would be the proposals, designs and other issues relating to the long stretch of road, (Linden to Lethem) Presidential Adviser on Governance Gail Teixeira had told residents of Aishalton during a visit in May.The stretch of road has over the years been undergoing maintenance works but travel has badly been affected in the rainy season.At the commissioning of the Takutu River Bridge in 2009, the former Brazilian President had assured that the road would be the next major undertaking through the Guyana-Brazil partnership.Last December, Minister Rodrigues-Birkett had explained that the road was imperative to the full realisation of the trade potential between Guyana and Brazil, particularly the northern part of Brazil which is in proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.The Takutu Bridge links Brazil and Guyana with significant trade increases reported since its opening. With Brazil a growing powerhouse in trade, Guyana would badly want to increase ties.Brazil understandably would want the road through Guyana as it will provide a much shorter route to the Atlantic Ocean, thus easing shipping time. It is the plan that container trucks will use the road to either a port in the city or altogether a new one.Neighbouring Brazil, because of its vastness, has been examining several options of easing its shipping woes, with the Linden/Lethem Road being a highly attractive one.They have offered to help fund the construction of the road. Already, a bridge across the Takutu River, which separates Guyana from Brazil, has been built, and vehicles using the outlying state of Boa Vista have been gladly utilizing it. Lethem has been reporting increased trade since the bridge was commissioned in late 2009.The current 265-mile Linden/Lethem trail has been known to become impassable in rainy times, halting activities of miners, forestry operators and residents who would use it. It is filled with river crossings and ruts and there have been calls to pave it. But this will prove an expensive venture for the Guyana government alone.Brazil had signaled its intentions as early as three years ago to help fund a 220-megawatt hydro power project near the border with Guyana.Brazil would purchase around100 megawatts to help power some of its northernmost areas, closest to Guyana.With the high prices of gold in recent years, Guyana has been seeing an influx of Brazilians in especially the mining districts.In the city,Authentic Atlanta Falcons Jersey, there have been a number of Brazilian businesses springing up. It is estimated that over 15,000 Brazilians live and work in Guyana. |
