Dear Editor,
In Guyana, massive construction works are underway in all of the ten regions of the country. New roads, bridges, and buildings, including hospitals, schools, stadiums and even temples and mosques, not to mention the building of hundreds of houses while some are repaired. The economy is thriving at a rate of roughly 46 percent of GDP, which is the highest in the Caribbean and Latin America and perhaps the world. It is a phenomenon no one expected or could have predicted – thanks to the discovery and exploration of oil by ExxonMobil and the other oil giants of the world.
Today in Guyana, there are hundreds if not thousands of contractors that have and continue to receive huge contracts from all different sources, including private individuals. But as fast as the roads are being built, cracks are appearing on many of them even before the job is completed. And although there are many reasons for such poor construction or sub-standard work, space will allow me to mention only a few of them.
One – many of the contractors are not vetted properly. Two – there are not enough qualified personnel to monitor the construction sites which suggests that many contractors are the adjudicators of their own work. Three – rumors have it that some of the contractors are given contracts based on their connections and or friendship with authoritative officials, thus bypassing the vetting system and ignoring all regulations and standard operating procedures. Four – many have little or no experience to build anything, not even a driveway or a bookshelf. And five – some of us are fully aware that many of the bona-fide contractors with expertise and years of experience are sidelined for an untold number of reasons, the result is that more than 60 percent of contractors are sub-contracting, which inevitably has led to sub-standard work being done because the original contractors would syphon off 25 percent of the initial cost for the project.
Of all the hundreds or thousands of contractors currently registered in Guyana, only a few stand out as being the best and on top of all the others. Among the few is BK International Inc. It is one of the only contracting firms that can boast of having the equipment, experience, and expertise not only to build roads and construct buildings, but to meet any challenges and overcome them in the construction industry. With more than forty years of experience, BK International has built hundreds of miles of roads, constructed several buildings and erected miles of sea-defenses in the three counties of Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice. Simply put, BK International has done it all. As the first Major General of the Guyana Defence Force, Nor-man McClean once said, “you name it, and BK will build it.” Construc-tion experts have asserted that there are three categories of contractors—Good, Better, Best, BK International fits neatly into the latter category.
Unlike most others, BK International is second to none and its capability is recognized regionally in the Caribbean, hemispheric in Latin America and elsewhere around the world, including Canada and the United States. Its recent construction of its hanger at Ogle is a marvel that has surpassed international standards. There is nothing spectacular like it anywhere in Guyana, Surinam, the Caribbean or Latin America. And the person behind the planning, development and construction of the hanger is none other than its visionary, ingenious and futurist Chairman, Mr. Brian Tiwari. Mr. Tiwari is original, creative ambitious and judicious. His most famous mantra which everyone not only in the construction industry but the general public should heed: Do not put all your eggs in one basket, but leave room just in case one door is closed, the chances are, others will open.
Sincerely,
Dr. Asquith Rose
