Minister of Transport Robeson Benn has said that the Chinese ferries will be put into operation in the first week in August, after setbacks plaguing the retrofitting of the Parika and Supenaam stellings resulted in undue delays.
He made this disclosure in response to a question from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) MP Joseph Harmon, who asked in the National Assembly on Thursday when the new ferries would be put into operation.
“We are working to have the facilities installed. There have been difficulties because of design changes and time management,” he said, adding that there were differences in the length of pilings required and the pilings had to be changed as a result. He said that based on the last set of discussions, the facilities will be ready to accommodate the ferries—the Canawan and Sabanto—in the first week of August.
The launch date for the operation of the two ferries has been perpetually pushed back since their arrival in Guyana in December last year.
During the budget debates in April, Benn had promised that the ferries would have been operational in April. This was then shifted to June, July and now August.
