The controversial contract awarded to Fip Motilall for the construction of US$15.4M worth of access roads to the Amaila hydro project site has been terminated.
The announcement was made at an 11.45 am press conference hurriedly called today by Works Minister Robeson Benn. The Motilall contract is badly behind schedule.
Motilall this morning confirmed to Stabroek News that the contract has been cancelled and he is to hold his own press conference this afternoon.
From the outset, the contract awarded by the previous government has been the source of major controversy. It was argued that Motilall had never built roads of the type he was being awarded and that he should never have gotten the contract. Despite this, the contract was awarded and from the very start he fell behind contract deadlines.
The opposition parties had made it clear that this contract was one of the ones that would come in for close scrutiny in the 10th Parliament.
Political observers say the termination is an example of the type of action that the minority government will be increasingly forced to take in controversial contracts such as the access roads. The previous PPP/C government had steadfastly refused to substantiate Motilall’s track record in building such roads or to apply liquidated damages for failure to meet deadlines. A series of excuses had been issued on his behalf by government and works ministry officials.
Speaking at the press briefing this morning, Benn said that as of the end of last month Synergy Holdings has only completed 40 percent of the project. The contract was terminated in accordance with Article 9 of the original contract, Benn indicated. He said that Motilall had failed to deliver in spite of repeated urgings and interventions from the project engineer and the consulting firm
According to Benn, the termination of the contract will result in the application of liquidated damages at a rate of US$10,000 a day from January to the date of termination. The contract bond will also be seized as well as all pieces of equipment and property used by Motilall in the project.
When contacted, Motilall confirmed that his contract had been terminated and told this newspaper it was unfortunate. He said he will be holding a press conference later today on the matter.
Recently, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon announced that the completion date of the road has been further pushed back to March/April of this year. The project was originally slated to be completed by September last year but was subsequently pushed back to December. It was agreed that sections of the road would have to be sub-contracted out to other companies to speed up the works, he said. Today’s announcement of the termination is clearly at odds with that announcement by Luncheon.
The contract awarded to Synergy was 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 roadway to allow for the installation of approximately 65 km of transmission lines.
Sections of the road had to be readjusted when a team of external consultants assessed the project and highlighted that there were poorly outlined specifications in the original project document. They recommended immediate changes to the design, including widening the road and reducing its steepness. Motilall was then instructed to widen sections of the access road.
