-contractor given six more months
Four years on, rehabilitation of the Leguan ferry stelling is still to be completed and the original contractor – who had been sued by the state – has now been given another six months to get the job done.
The company, S. Maraj Contracting Services, and the Assuria Insurance Company, were sued by the state over incomplete works on the stelling, which has been under construction since 2019. The Transport and Harbours Department (TH&D), as the procuring agency, during litigation, engaged the contractor in negotiations and both were recently able to arrive at a settlement. “Like any other litigation there was room for negotiations and there was a settlement. Now the contractor should complete the stelling on terms and conditions that were set as result of those negotiations….” Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill said. He told the Sunday Stabroek that as a public officer and minister, he is embarrassed at the handling of the project.
“I am embarrassed at the state of this project. It is one that was inherited but it was one I want to bring to conclusion,” he said. The minister in a telephone interview explained that his government, as much as it was disappointed by the slothful work, was mandated to find a solution to bring relief to the people of the Essequibo River island of Leguan.
“We are not in any way as a government, happy about this contract. This was a contract that we frowned upon. It was bad from the very start and mishandled… But the reality is, the people are suffering and government money is spent and tied up. We had to find a way of settling this matter and get a proper stelling delivered to the people of Leguan,” he posited. The Public Works Minister had a contrary view when asked if the contractor should bear some blame for the delay in the completion of the stelling. He stated that no one will accept the blame for a project such as this. In the minister’s view, the project was corrupt. “It was a corrupt contract… A corrupt transaction where things were deliberately omitted from the clause. You can imagine a man was supposed to drive piles, wooden piles and when he had to start driving the wooden piles he said he aunt have to supply it? The contract requires piles and he said the word supply aint deh in the contract,” Edghill pointed out before he questioned “is not [being] left out deliberately for him? It is lawless like that we are talking about… he wanted to be paid for the piles or have it supplied.”
Contractor Sattrohan Maraj of S. Maraj Contracting Services in a telephone interview last week said works had recommenced on the stelling. Maraj told the Sunday Stabroek that the termination of the contract and the court case against his company were now closed matters after the ministry recognised he was not to be blamed for the delayed works. According to the contractor, the project started out under the previous APNU+AFC government as a rehabilitation of the stelling but as works were executed, defects were identified leading to changes in the bill of quantities. This resulted in a fresh contract for the construction of a new stelling instead. He stated that the contract was however suspended on the grounds that the procuring agency, T&HD, requested changes to the design of the stelling, and lack of adequate construction materials also hindered the pace of the work. At the time of the interview, he explained his workers were currently mobilizing materials and preparing to cast the concrete decking platform. Work on the stelling resumed during the course of the past week.
Cast the deck
“We… commenced work two days (Sunday last) ago and we are now preparing to cast the deck. We are looking to cast in the New Year,” Maraj explained in a telephone interview with the Sunday Stabroek. According to him, his company was retained by the Ministry of Public Works to continue and complete works on the project after the ministry “got to the bottom of the problem.” With this development, he said he entered into an amended contract with the Ministry of Public Works’ T&HD with a new scope of works. The new decking platform, which is now being constructed and joined to the existing passenger platform, will be outfitted with a floating ramp among other amenities. It is necessary that the project be equipped with piles of 100 feet. to have a sound foundation to stand against the tides.
“This wasn’t left to the contractor to do what he wants, we engaged an independent consultant to do the test driving, the measurement and advise us on the way forward. And we have the independent report and the technical advice and as a result of that we have a settlement agreement,” Edghill said.
The project was recently flagged by the Auditor General’s (AG) 2021 Report for payment for incomplete works. In the findings, the AG stated that the contractor received a total of $350.7M from a contract total of $413.2M.
“As at December 2021, the Ministry paid an additional sum of $151.316M to the contractor bringing the total sum paid to $350.751M. It should be noted however that even though the additional sum was paid, it could not be determined if the incomplete works valued at $148.465M was done,” the report stated. It was explained that in 2019, the contractor received payments totaling $199.435M from a total sum of $413.259M.
From their estimation, the auditors said that the value of works done at the time was worth $50.970M. This resulted in the contractor receiving payments in excess of $148.465M for works not done. The report stated that as of June 6, this year, the Ministry in a response to queries, indicated that the contractor has a balance of $60.047M on the contract sum. Maraj, however dismissed the findings, claiming that they were inaccurate. He stated that his company did not resubmit a new proposal to reflect changes to the piles and variation of design, but rather, it was the T&HD.
The AG’s report, which was released in September 2022 further pointed out that the cost for the completion of the project moved from $413.259M to $581.317M following amendments to the procurement document. The new charges were proposed on March 11, 2022. In the proposal the contractor estimated the increased pile length would move from 80 feet to 100 feet, an additional cost of $77.5M and a $90.5M to cover funding required for unpaid variation orders, design changes, unforeseen works and claims.
Edghill confirmed that the state will have to foot the cost for the variation and design of the project. He stressed that this was based on a technical report by an independent consultant. Maraj further contended that when the AG’s team visited the project in 2020, their estimation that the works completed did not exceed $50M in value was inaccurate, and at that time, they had completed works valuing over $300M.
“They are not putting the right findings in the report,” he said before questioning the methods of valuation by the AG’s office.
Complained bitterly
With the stelling still under construction, users say it is a hassle to transport produce between the loading dock and the vessels operating at the Ferry Stelling. When the Sunday Stabroek visited the island days before recommencement of works, residents were at a loss, and disappointed, over the non-completion of the new stelling. They complained bitterly stating that the incomplete works have resulted in limited space for any operation especially when they have to export and import produce. For many it was their expectation that the stelling would have been completed by now.
“Sometimes we are not allowed up the stelling or you just have to go drop off and pick up when the crowd eases off… there is no space on stelling for us,” taxi driver N. Rampersaud explained. At present, only a small section of the stelling is completed which is a passageway from the island out into the Essequibo River. During a visit it was observed that many piles, which are the foundation for the landing have been planted. Since then no other type of work was carried out.
During the visit, with works stalled over 18 months, it was gathered that residents believed that it had become a forgotten project as they were not provided with any update on the status of the work. Hans Buer, a community activist and well-known resident on the island, said he has written a number of letters to government agencies, including the Office of the President and the Vice President, and even messaged on social media pages, for an update on the project but to date he has not received any word.
“We need a proper stelling because it is really difficult for the residents of this island,” Buer said. Even the Neighbourhood Democratic Council was unaware of the project’s status. When this newspaper visited the office, both the Chairman of the NDC and the Overseer declined to comment on the impact that the absence of a fully functional stelling has had on the island.
“We don’t know what is happening. We haven’t heard from anyone if a new contractor get the work or what. We don’t know,” a resident Mahendra (only name given) explained. “It is the main port for the island, we have no other way, that is for everyone not us islanders…. I left in March and I come back now and it is the same way… we don’t know when and if we will ever get a completed stelling,” another resident said.
Timeline of Events
September 2018 – A contract valued at $413,259,260 was signed on September 20, 2018 with S. Maraj for the construction of Leguan Stelling
December 2018 – Commencement order issued
March 2019 – Works suspended by Order of Transport and Harbours Department
November 6, 2019 – Recommencement of Work Order issued
February 2021- Minister Juan Edghill terminates contract
March 2021- S. Maraj Contracting Services sued by the state
December 2022- Works recommenced on the Leguan Stelling after a new contract signed
