Much-needed bypass – ROBIN

“Then the twelve miles of road from Diamond to Ogle was not enough, the plan was expanded to thirty-two miles with the road being extended from Ogle to Soesdyke.”

“We were informed that a swamp was encountered and needed to be bypassed or drained. All of this without a foot of the much-needed bypass being built. Would it have been so terrible to build the original bypass with four lanes and explore extension simultaneously?”

“Surely even the worst of our road building contractors could have built twelve miles of road on sturdy sugar plantation dams in the ensuing four years? The estimated cost of this road project has moved from US$50 million to over US$120 million. The Government of India, which provided the initial $50 million loan has been approached by Patterson and his colleague Winston Jordan for an extension of credit to $120 million, given their track record, the request has been met with much scepticism and reluctance by the Export-Import Bank of India.”

ROBIN SINGH