A major infrastructure upgrade project on Domineestraat, one of the busiest and most important thoroughfares in downtown Paramaribo, Suriname, has hit a key milestone: the first phase of reconstruction has been completed, and the street has been reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic as of Sunday, though the full project remains far from finished. Contracted by the Surinamese Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning (OWRO), local construction firm Tjongalanga N.V. is leading the rehabilitation work, which targets decades-old aging infrastructure in the high-traffic downtown corridor.
Company director Dave van der Lee explained that preparatory work for the project kicked off in late May, with close coordination between the construction team, local utility providers, and nearby business owners to minimize disruption to daily operations in the area. The completed first section stretches between Neumanpad and Steenbakkerijstraat, where crews have already installed new PVC sewage pipes along both sides of the roadway, replacing outdated original infrastructure that ran through the center of the street. All household connections and street drainage gullies have been reconnected to the new system, which routes wastewater through pipes under Jodenbreestraat to the pumping station at the end of the road before discharging it into the Suriname River.
After utility companies finished their underground upgrades, excavation work on the roadway itself began on August 3. Crews removed the original 60 to 70-year-old asphalt layer, as well as the existing 50-year-old sewage network that was in severe disrepair. Inspection of the existing ground base revealed it had degraded to an unsafe condition, requiring crews to excavate the full roadway to a depth of one meter before rebuilding the foundation from scratch: the new base consists of 80 centimeters of clinker sand and 20 centimeters of base course, topped with an initial six-centimeter layer of fresh asphalt.
Even with the street now open to traffic, construction work continues on the first segment. Temporary road markings, including crosswalks, lane sorting boxes, and a center dividing line, will be installed within the next two weeks, with all work on this component required to be finished before September 3. Local utility providers still have final tasks to wrap up as well: the Suriname Water Company (SWM) is completing remaining connection work, while Energiebedrijven Suriname (EBS) is responsible for upgrading the street’s public lighting network. Once these utility tasks are done, crews will rebuild sidewalks and reconfigure existing parking bays along the first segment.
The second, unstarted phase of the project covers the stretch from Steenbakkerijstraat to Zwartenhovenbrugstreet, which will begin once all remaining work on the first segment is wrapped up. According to van der Lee, the full project is still on track to be completed and handed over to the government in mid-November.
OWRO Minister Stephen Tsang emphasized that the rehabilitation project delivers more than just improved road infrastructure. The overhaul is also designed to enhance the overall appearance of the downtown core and support the local tourism sector. “When completed, this street will bring a beautiful new aesthetic to the heart of our city,” Tsang stated.