Procurement details are being hammered out for urgent works to seal the sea defence breach that opened at Dantzig, Mahaicony last week.
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill last night told Stabroek News that the technical officers and Permanent Secretary Kenneth Jordan are finalizing procurement details as they look to engage a third contractor to execute remedial works.
Last Thursday during a visit to Mahaicony, Edghill informed residents that they are seeking the services of a third contractor to enable swift action.
Edghill had visited the vulnerable Mahaicony stretch of sea defence to gain a firsthand understanding of the residents’ plight and to assess the work done to date.
The return of spring tides on Wednesday morning resulted in the flooding of residents’ yards along with pastures and lands used for cultivation.
Edghill noted that the longer the delay in commencing remedial works on the breached portion of the sea defence, the likelier it is for the cost for works to escalate.
The estimated cost of the repairs is pegged at between $145 and $175 million based on the figures and timeline provided by engineers at the Ministry.
Jermaine Braithwaite, Project Manager at the Ministry’s River and Sea Defence Department, during an interview with Stabroek News, had explained that the new section highlighted as a concern was outside of the 500 meters that was to be done under the current contract.
Braithwaite said it was an extensive stretch of shoreline that was affected by the natural erosion and loss of mangrove. He explained that even with them engaging contractors to do work in defined sections, additional areas west of those sections have problems, where they are becoming exposed and opening up. He said that the Minister will be taking urgent steps and has engaged in discussions on the way forward.
Previously, Stabroek News had reported that Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar had bemoaned delays in sealing breaches along the Mahaicony shoreline which BK International claims is partly due to a defect in the design provided to the company.
Indar told this newspaper that BK International should have recognised the urgent need for works to be done and begun mobilising the necessary materials and resources for its project at Content, Mahaicony.
Rehabilitation works have been ongoing on the vulnerable sea defence since 2019.
