President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has committed to assisting this country with the construction of four Bailey bridges as part of the rebuilding efforts after the December 2013 devastating floods.{{more}}

Speaking at a media briefing held on Monday July 14, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said one of the four Bailey bridges will be a double lane while the other three would be standard single lane bridges.

Dr Gonsalves described the assistance as a “tremendous” gift of a value of US$ 4.2 million or EC$ 11.3 million. The target date to commence the construction of the bridges is September of this year.

The Prime Minister left the state on July 7 for an official visit to Ecuador and returned on July 13. His delegation included his wife Eloise Gonsalves, Ambassador Andreas Wickham (Ambassador to South American countries) Garth Bynoe Foreign Officer, Civil Harris consultant working on bridges, Mrs Angie Jackson (private secretary) Senator Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Foreign Affairs and his personal security guard Station Sergeant Francois.

Dr Gonsalves told the media that while in Ecuador he met with the National Assembly, had a brief engagement with the media and also held private discussions with President Rafael Correa.