Dear Editor,
For years T&HD had their ferries built by Sprostons in Guyana or in the UK and they have all been designed to moor sideways. It was convenient to do so since it allows for discharge and loading and departure under any tidal conditions and at any time of the day and night.
The new Chinese Roll on/Roll Off ferries discharge and load from the front making it difficult to moor, anchor and leave during low tides. The stelling at Good Hope was built to suit mooring sideways and it will be extremely difficult and costly to make both the Good Hope Stelling and existing Parika Stelling suitable for these new ferries.
It would be interesting to know if the design engineers for the Good Hope Stelling were aware that the Stelling had to be designed for front-loading ferries. Having worked in the Far-East and familiar with the design and construction of these types of ferries and stellings I previously wrote about the problems associated with these types of ferries for Guyana.
The contractor BK Contracting has been blamed for bad construction, which is unfair.
The contractor can only build what he tendered for.
When Guyana became independent T&HD had their own engineers and workers responsible for design and construction of their ferries and stellings. Today, you have to be dependent on foreigners and locals who have no experience in this type of work. A similar situation exists for the Hydraulics and Roads Divisions.
In my opinion the lack of engineering expertise would continue to haunt Guyana for years to come regardless of which political party or parties are in power.
Yours faithfully,
M. Alli
