Government is concerned about the delay in the construction of the road to Amaila Falls but the contractor should be more concerned, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon said on Thursday.
“We couldn’t help but [be] concerned about the delays but I would point out that the design of the contract makes the contractor even more concerned because the penalties are quite significant and I can assure they are and will be enforced in this instance for not meeting the drop-dead day,” he said during his weekly post-cabinet media briefing.
Up to earlier this month, four months after being given the go ahead to start the first phase of the Amaila Falls road project, Synergy Holdings Inc was behind schedule having completed just over 10% of the work. Senior Government Engineer Walter Willis had said that the project was a bit behind schedule but said it should be taken into consideration that the work only started in October. He said the contractor has eight months to complete the work. The road leads to Amaila Falls, where a hydro power plant will be built.
Asked whether in hindsight the government is still satisfied that Synergy is the best company to execute this project, Luncheon responded that they do not question the process. Once the contractual engagements are met, they are satisfied, he said. “I don’t believe that we ever entertain those kinds of questions during the execution of the project,” he said.
The US$15.4 million contract awarded to Synergy is for “the upgrading of approximately 85 km of existing roadway, the design and construction of approximately 110 km of virgin roadway, the design and construction of two new pontoon crossings at the Essequibo and Kuribrong rivers.” The fourth part of the project is for the clearing of a pathway alongside the roadways to allow for the installation of approximately 65 km of transmission lines.
Willis had disclosed that that on January 11, Synergy was given the construction notice to proceed for Sections 6 and 7, which includes the parts of the project involving virgin forests. Given the late issuance of this notice, the company may be given back its “waiting time,” he said.
Back in October, President of Synergy Holdings Inc Fip Motilall, during an interview with public relations executive Cathy Hughes, said that completing the road in eight months would have been a daunting task but insisted that it was possible. Synergy Holdings Inc came under intense scrutiny following the award of the contract, with questions being asked about the company’s road building experience. Motilall has said that his company has over seven years of road building experience in Florida and Georgia, where it operated in very difficult terrain.
