France is showing an interest in building the Corentyne River bridge

… Introducing EoI

France has expressed interest in building the Corentyne River bridge that will connect the South American nations of Guyana and Suriname.

This was revealed in a statement released by the Department of Public Information (DPI) which stated that the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, on Monday met with the Ambassador of the French Republic to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, His Excellency Antoine Joly and team.
The delegation that visited included the Ambassador along with Jean-Francois Gerin, Christophe Sureau, Christine Sureau, Yorgo Hernandez and Philippe Lamoure.
It was explained that potential areas for future collaboration had been discussed during the meeting.
“The French Ambassador shared an interest in the maintenance of Guyana’s ships and the construction of the Corentyne River bridge,” the statement noted.
Minister Edghill said the French would be very welcome to submit their Expressions of Interest for that project, as well as other projects on the transformational agenda of the Government of Guyana.

The Minister for Public Works also expressed his interest in building the capacity of the local workforce in co-operation with the French.
He highlighted the importance of maintenance to the local fleet of ships, especially as two are currently in a dry dock, awaiting repairs.
The Ambassador welcomed the idea of ​​co-operation between the two countries in the near future.
in October 2020, Suriname’s Minister of Public Works, Dr Riad Nurmohamed, and Guyana’s Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, visited the site of the proposed Guyana-Suriname river bridge across the Corentyne River. Three border points were identified – Moleson Creek, Long Island in the Corentyne River and South Drain in Suriname.
In November 2020, Guyana and Suriname signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the bridge. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd, and his Surinamese counterpart, Albert Ramdin, at the President’s Palace in Paramaribo.
In December 2020, Canada had expressed interest in building the bridge.
During an exclusive interview with this announcement, Canadian diplomat Lilian Chatterjee explained that the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) was among several organizations interested in building the bridge.
Guyana’s President, Dr Irfaan Ali, had a virtual meeting with Chatterjee and representatives of the CCC to discuss several major infrastructure projects in Guyana, including the Corentyne River bridge.
The Corentyne River Bridge will not only connect the two neighboring countries of Guyana and Suriname, but also open up access to more economic opportunities beyond France’s Guyana, and through the developing road network to Brazil, and eventually further to South America.
Reports indicate that the Corentyne River bridge is expected to be a flat bridge from Guyana to Long Island in the Corentyne River and then a high span bridge from there to the Surinamese mainland to allow for heavy marine traffic. This bridge is expected to promote the safe movement of people and products.
In addition, it is envisaged that Long Island will become an economic hub and a free zone that will also see the development of major infrastructure such as hotels, leisure parks, recreation areas, tourist attractions, malls and farmers markets.
With the recent commitments to bridge Guyana and Suriname over the Corentyne River within five years, this project is expected to open the way for other major developmental projects including the long-awaited deep-water harbor project in Guyana.