The five pairs of elevators installed in the overhead pedestrian crossings along the East Bank of Demerara remain inoperable.
The elevators were installed with the objective of providing safe and easy access subsequent to the construction of the overpasses. They were installed at the cost of approximately $12.2 million each, the Department of Public Information reported in 2019.
As it is, the overhead crossings are under-utilised as many persons prefer to take their chances crossing the usually busy East Bank four-lane highway.
The crossing at Peters Hall in the vicinity of the Demerara Harbour Bridge is the one most utilised by pedestrians. However, despite that area being one of the busiest during the course of the day, many still engage in jay walking amid the traffic. Owing to the flight of stairs persons have to climb, many opt to jay walk which they say is easier and less time consuming.
At the corners of the pedestrian crossing small piles of garbage were observed and cobweb has taken over the interior and sections of the exterior of the elevators.
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, said last week that a forensic audit is being conducted of the project by the Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma. He added that the findings from that investigation will guide the decision on what will be done with the 10 elevators.
Edghill said the Guyanese public has been unable to benefit from the installation of the lifts, making it a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“It was an ill-conceived project simply because the elevators are not industrial type. This is a waste of money and it has not served the people of Guyana,” he posited.
Earlier this year, the Minister wrote to Sharma requesting a forensic audit into the construction of the overhead pedestrian crossings which were built under the former APNU+AFC administration.
Government, Edghill said in his letter to the AG, did not get “value for money” for the installation and operation of the elevators. Although the elevators were part of the project, he said they are still incomplete after more than two years.
The project was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Contracts were awarded to two companies for the construction of five overhead walkways.
S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Construction Services was awarded a total of US$728,973 to construct crossings at Providence and Diamond while a contract of US$1,034,326 was awarded to B&J Civil Works to build crossings at three locations namely: Eccles, Houston and Peters Hall.
These contracts were executed on April 27, 2017. Later, with approval from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and the IDB, the contracts were amended and the period for completion extended to September 30, 2018.
Former Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, in May 2017 had announced government’s plan to construct the crossings, which were expected to significantly reduce accidents, save on time for those travelling from Diamond, and enable a free flow of traffic.
In addition, Edghill noted that under the former Minis-try, five complete solar voltaic systems were procured and installed at the five crossings.
Farfan and Mendes Limited was given the contract which was effective from July 8, 2018 to supply, install and maintain the solar voltaic systems for a ten-year period at a cost of US$502,213.
In his letter to Sharma, Edghill attached a series of documents which detail his claims and carry dates between the period of December, 2018 and December, 2019.
“The contracting agency accepted the projects [construction of the overhead walkways] as substantively completed and took over the works in accordance with Clause 56.1 of the conditions of the contracts,” Edghill said.
He added that as it relates to the supply, installation and maintenance of the solar voltaic systems, the contracting agency accepted the project as substantially completed.
According to the minister, the elevators arrived here in February, 2018 and installation commenced in June, 2018.
Several months after, they were commissioned with the period for maintenance beginning from November 1, 2018 for a period of one year.
Following this, Edghill said personnel received training on how to operate and maintain the elevators.
However, he added that for close to a year after commissioning, the elevators were inoperable and remained closed.
During this period, there were incidents of vandalism and in all instances repairs were carried out by the Ministry. Edghill said that the DHBC failed to provide any footage of these incidents.
In August, 2019, the overpass at Peters Hall was commissioned and opened for use by the public.
The minister stated in his letter that subsequently, a number of technical difficulties emerged including a door lock not opening or closing, and the elevator malfunctioning while persons were inside, among others.
As a result, RBP Lifts, the company which installed the elevators and the local representative who was responsible for quarterly maintenance were summoned on numerous occasions.
The local representative was unable to rectify some of the issues.
During September, 2019, an incident occurred where persons were stuck in the elevator. The Ministry learnt of this via social media.
Edghill said the issue was looked into and repairs were done. As such, the elevators were back in operation.
“No further communication was received from DHBC as the said agency’s personnel had been trained and had been introduced to the local elevator representative, and there was no indication that the elevators were not performing or working as per manufacturer’s specifications. There was also no notice from DHBC that the elevators were as a consequence closed,” Edghill noted in his letter.
He added that the DHBC had reported that after the issue was rectified, it recurred.
“The elevators would work excellently for about 20 minutes then start exhibiting the same problems of not locking, or opening, errors indicating control board faults, screen displays malfunctioning,” the minister informed.
He said on several occasions efforts were made by the local representative to fix the issue but they were fruitless.
As a consequence, in February, last year, he said the elevators at Peters Hall stopped working since the issues were not rectified and it was unsafe for persons to use them.
