Georgetown: The Housing Ministry is currently working on its ‘master plan’ to alleviate the congestion on the East Bank of Demerara by the construction of a secondary highway , dubbed the ‘ Collector’s Lane’ .
According to the Minister with the portfolio, Irfaan Ali, the Collector’s Lane forms part of the Ministry’s Macro Plan, being realized through collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works.
“This year the Ministry of Housing will commence work on the collector’s lane,” Ali announced.
As part of the overall plan, the Ministry has commenced construction of several ‘feeder roads’ including the new Providence access road, which will lead to the collector’s lane, and which will link several communities along the corridor.
He explained, “The New Providence access road is one of the major feeder links, it will become a major highway finished in asphaltic surface. It will become of the major feeder roads that connect the existing East Bank Demerara Highway along the Demerara River with the Highway dam, in the inner part of the East Bank.
This road, when completed will lead to the Collector’s Lane, which will stretch from the East Bank, connecting Diamond all the way to Eccles then on to LBI, on the East Coast of Demerara.
As to the importance of this piece of infrastructure, one of the Housing Ministry’s Engineers, Mr. Omar Narine, noted that, owing to the magnitude of the Housing Programme, the road was necessary in providing access to the land to convert to housing.
“The road is 1.5km long and 6m wide, this will connect Providence phase 1 and 2 Moderate Income section, the Re-migrant Scheme and give direct access to the Mocha Road. The estimated time of the project completion is 4-6 months to bring it to asphalt level, we have expended $129M on the first phase and another $300 M is projected to be expended in the second phase,” Mr. Narine revealed
When completed, it is expected that the Providence access road will supersede the Diamond Main road in terms of significance and importance.
The Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali has pointed to the transformation taking place along the East Bank corridor resulting in the creation of more lots, the improvement of existing infrastructure and the creation of new facilities.
Ali reiterated that the housing strategy is integral to growth, economic expansion and poverty reduction in the country.
He noted that the transformation sweeping the country, through the housing drive, has been promoting private/public partnership, integrated housing development and social landscaping, which takes into consideration the important elements of the economy.
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