HPS and Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon yesterday announced that Cabinet has offered no objections to 14 contracts including one valued over $569M for East Coast road works and another for $33.9M for closed circuit television cameras for the airport.
The outlay for the CCTV cameras and equipment for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport will likely raise questions. The airport was meant to have had a sufficient number of cameras for its security needs. However, in recent years drug traffickers have been slipping through undetected and it doesn’t appear as if there is footage that would allow security agencies to prosecute. There was no further explanation for the expenditure.
According to the Government Information Agency, no objections were offered for the tender valued $569.3M for the upgrading of roads on the East Coast Demerara (Six lots) in the housing and water sector. In addition, a tender valued $115.75M for the construction and upgrading of roads at Wisroc, Region 10 (Phase 1B) was also give the go-ahead along with a tender valued $74.71M for the supply and delivery of transmission and distribution materials; one valued $121.45M for the upgrading of roads at Block 4 Tain, Region Six and No 79 Village, Corentyne and one valued at $95.9M for the construction and upgrade of roads at Wisroc.
Two contracts were also green-lighted in the agriculture sector. One valued US$76,300 for the procurement of a Dutch incubation system for the Guyana Livestock Development Authority and the other valued US$78,520 for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of a weather station receiving system for the hydromet office.
In addition, a $99.8M contract was also given the go-ahead for the construction of rip-rap river defence at Orangestein, East Bank Essequibo; a $116.6M contact for rip-rap river defence at Endeavour, Region Three and a $73.3M contract for rip-rap river defence at Zeelandia, Wakenaam, Region Three.
In the education sector a $23.2M tender was given the go-ahead for the extension of the joinery and carpentry workshops at the Essequibo Technical Institute and a $54.81M contract was okayed for the reprinting and delivery of textbooks for national distribution.
Also, in sport no objections were offered for a $37.4M contract for the construction of the foundation for the warm-up, cool-down pool at the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal.