Works to upgrade the stellings meant to harbour the two just-arrived China-built ferries on the Essequibo River will be completed by year end, according to contractor Brian Tiwarie of B.K International, who said delays have been due to frequent changes to the specifications.
When the ferries, arrived on Wednesday from China through Trinidad, as a gift to the people of Guyana from the Chinese Government, heavy infrastructure works were ongoing at the Parika stelling at the time, while all was quiet at the newly-built but beleaguered Good Hope stelling.
Speaking to the Stabroek News on Monday, CEO of B.K. International Tiwarie said that he expects to complete the works on the two stellings by the end of the year.
But he lamented that the government keeps changing the specifications for the works to be done and said this was extending the period for the works.
Senior government engineer Walter Willis told this newspaper on Wednesday that the two ferries will remain moored in Georgetown until the stellings at Parika, and Good Hope are ready to receive them.
This newspaper visited the Good Hope stelling at Supenaam but saw nothing being done there. However, when Stabroek News contacted Tiwarie, he said that the company has supplied two pontoons which are to be fastened to the Good Hope stellings to facilitate the docking of the roll on/roll off ferries.
At Parika, meanwhile, a number of piles were being driven into the bed of the river to solidify the foundation of the new dock for the ferries, both of which will be plying the Essequibo River. The works to retrofit the stelling necessitated the removal of a number of stalls and other structures along the bank of the river near the stelling, to the chagrin of vendors.
The Good Hope stelling, completed to the tune of $431 million, was the subject of criticism last year when the newly-constructed ramp gave way under the weight of laden trucks. Subsequently, B.K and the Ministry of Public Works blamed each other for the problems with the stelling, with Tiwarie saying it was the ministry’s modifications to the stelling that “messed up” the structure. Minister of Transport Robeson Benn, however, stated that the Ministry of Local Government supervised the construction and later issued a certificate of completion to B.K even though the completed project had obvious defects. Cabinet subsequently green-lit additional spending for its rectification without any penalties exerted on any of the parties for the failures.
Meanwhile, at the stelling on Wednesday, some drivers complained of being unfairly passed over for a space on the ferries that traverse between Supenaam and Parika and asked that the authorities address these concerns, as they were trying unsuccessfully since Monday to get on a boat to get back to the city. The drivers also complained that trucks are transiting the stelling without regard to the weight stipulations put in place since the repairs carried out there.
