Plans for the construction of a bypass road along an old Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) dam, linking Canal, Leonora, and Stewartville, has begun, in a major project aimed at improving traffic flow and opening new development opportunities along the West Bank and West Coast of Demerara.
During a site visit to inspect road works at Buzz Bee Dam on Tuesday, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said the bypass will significantly ease congestion between Hague and Stewartville.
“That investment, that bypass road, will reduce the time from Canal to Leonora to just about 10 minutes,” he stated.
The bypass is part of a wider government effort to enhance regional connectivity following the commissioning of the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge (BJDRB). Construction of the bridge’s connecting road could only begin after the old Demerara Harbour Bridge was decommissioned, as the two shared the same alignment.
President Ali noted that the bypass will also unlock extensive land for agriculture and housing.
“That will open up all the farmlands there because we have to find land on the West Coast for at least 20,000 more households,” he said. “We are now trying to purchase land in Region Two to meet the housing demands there. The same thing with Region Five and Six.”
The West Bank–West Coast bypass forms a key part of the government’s broader infrastructure and housing expansion strategy, aimed at connecting communities, reducing travel times, and creating new economic zones along Guyana’s coastal regions.
