Even though it was ordered to cease work as a result of its contract being terminated, BK International is continuing with construction on the $826.7 million Yarrowkabra Secondary School and says it has written to the government seeking a review of its decision to terminate the contract.
BK International spokesperson Adam Harris on Friday told Stabroek News that the firm has written to Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, and copied the letter to President Irfaan Ali. He said that they are awaiting a response.
However, Nandlall, who is also the Attorney General (AG), said he has not received any correspondence from the company requesting a review.
Harris said that since notification of the contract being terminated, they have received two visits but were never issued cease orders. He stated that within the first week of the termination, the design and supervision consultant, Vikab Engineering, visited the site and took photographs. On November 10, Chief Education Offi-cer, Marcel Hutson, while on his way to Linden also visited the construction site and never informed any of the workers to cease working, Harris said.
When contacted, Nandlall said he had written to the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, informing her of the termination. In a letter dated November 3, Nandlall advised Manickchand that her ministry should take possession of the site since the contractors were instructed to vacate.
Harris contended that the company has completed 15% of works as opposed to the 5% stated by the AG in his missive on November 1.
Stabroek News had previously reported Harris as saying, “[Nandlall] has cited that we would have completed 5% of works and we are saying this is not the case. We have completed 15% of works.” he added that it appeared that the AG used the findings of an official visit to the site at the end of June, when only 5% of the work was completed, to inform the decision rather than the progress made to date.
BK Engineer, Ganesh Shaw, told Stabroek News that the works completed thus far include the construction of the foundation and columns to block “G and H,” and the foundation of “Block E and F.” According to Shaw, the firm was hoping to start column works this week and begin the foundation works of the other buildings by this weekend.
Nandlall, in a letter to the company dated November 1, had cited inordinate delays in the completion of the works to be the reason for the termination of the contract.
“Thus far, your company only completed 5% of the scheduled works. As a consequence, your company has committed [a] fundamental breach of the terms of the contract and as a result the Government of Guyana hereby exercises its right to terminate the contract with immediate effect,” the letter which was sent to the Company Secretary, stated.
Harris had said that the delays that have occurred so far are not the company’s fault. He said that despite the contract being signed in December, 2019, no supervising consultant was identified by the Ministry of Education, thereby preventing work from being carried out. He detailed that the Ministry appointed Vikab Engineering Consultants Ltd as the consultant in March. However, before work could begin, measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, which included the suspension of public works, were enforced.
Harris added that it was only on June 1 that works began and at the end of June a site visit was done.
It is on these grounds the company spokesman said that they are requesting a review of the termination of the contract. Harris added that should that request be denied, the company is prepared to challenge the termination in court.
A source familiar with the project and the procurement process had previously told Stabroek News that due to the fact that the contract was awarded at the end of 2019, in the absence of budgetary allocations for 2020, the contractor was unable to access financing. This, he explain-ed, severely hindered the progress of the project as the contractor never received any mobilisation advance.
The contract, which is due to expire in March 2021, was awarded under the David Granger-led APNU+AFC administration, although at the time of the signing the coalition was regarded as a caretaker government and critics have said that a contract of the magnitude of the one for the school construction should not have been awarded.
The Ministry of Educa-tion had previously announced the award of the contract for the construction of the school to BK International Inc at a cost of $826,757,737.
The ministry had said that the Yarrowkabra Secondary School on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway would boast modern amenities, including Information Technology Laboratories, an Allied Arts Department, a library, science laboratories and an auditorium.
The school is expected to have the capacity to accommodate 600 students from the Yarrowkabra community and other neighbouring communities along the Linden Highway.
