Corentyne River Bridge will open up a brighter future for Suriname and Guyana

I REFER to Mr Charles Sohan’s attack on the concept of the Corentyne River Bridge to which the Government of Guyana is committed (GT20/02/21). Mr Sohan feels that the money spent on the bridge could better be spent to improve the ferry between Guyana and Suriname, since the small traffic on the bridge would never repay the investment in it.


Actually, Mr Sohan is thinking in a very narrow economic context and fails to take into account the broader economic and socio-political effect of the bridge. With the bridge, the amount of traffic moving between Guyana and Suriname would immediately increase many hundredfold, far beyond what the ferry now carries. Indeed, one may work in Suriname or Guyana and return home the same day to Paramaribo or Georgetown and trade would exponentially increase.

Mr Sohan made a similar mis-assessment when he supported the APNU+AFC before the 2015 elections and wrote many letters in support of the Coalition. APNU+AFC deeply disappointed those who gave it support and Mr Sohan is still to write a letter of contrition or apology.