Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed’s claim that the proposed Versailles-to-Parika Four-Lane Highway is “grossly overpriced” rests on a flawed comparison that ignores vast differences in scale between it and the completed Eccles-to-Great Diamond highway, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) said.
Mohamed had measured the Region 3 project, estimated at approximately $121 billion, against the $13.3 billion cost of the Region 4 highway. But the $13.3 billion figure represents a completed contract, while the Region 3 estimate covers a project yet to be awarded, CH&PA said, adding that the comparison also fails to account for major differences in engineering requirements and scope.
The Region 3 highway spans approximately 20.74km, compared with 8.6km in Region 4 – about 2.4 times the length. Its preparation base width, at 53.15m, is more than double the 25.99m used in Region 4, producing a preparation footprint nearly five times larger.
The projects also differ sharply in ancillary works. Region 3 includes approximately 68.02km of access-road construction, versus 0.8km in Region 4, and 62 bridges compared with 40, with a combined bridge length about 2.7 times greater. Region 3 further includes 3.82km of revetment works and more than 31,100 linear metres of Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVDs) for ground improvement, neither of which formed part of the Region 4 scope.
A simplistic per-kilometre calculation would put Region 4 at roughly $1.55 billion per kilometre against $5.21 billion for Region 3, but this understates what the larger project finances, CH&PA said, since the $108 billion budget covers an integrated programme of road, bridge, drainage and ground-improvement works, not the main carriageway alone.
The timing of the two projects also differs, with Eccles-to-Great Diamond completed in 2023 and Versailles-to-Parika being costed under 2026 construction prices for labour, fuel, sand, cement, steel and other inputs.
Given the differences in length, scale and engineering scope, along with the several-year gap between the two projects, the comparison does not provide a sound basis for describing the Versailles-to-Parika Highway as “overpriced,” CH&PA said.
