-says some works incomplete
President Irfaan Ali yesterday dismissed concerns raised about substandard works on the $15 billion Schoonord-to-Crane Highway as “empty noises,” saying that some of the works being highlighted were incomplete.
“There is absolutely no concern about Schoonord [road project]. I shared… some information because there are some drain covers. These are covers where the form [board] still has to be removed and this is ongoing,” Ali said when asked yesterday by Stabroek News about the issue.
“And there is a long defects liability period. So it is just empty noises,” he added.
On Thursday at the opening of the Schoonord-to-Crane Highway, Ali had trumpeted that the project was a subset of the overall increased accessibility around the country by land, pointing out that one adjustment to add another exit was highlighted and will be done by Sunday.
He said that during the testing of the roadway, the police advised that “there should be one more slip lane on the Crane roundabout that would further help traffic flow. It will allow for the smooth transition of the traffic.”
The road project which was inked in September, 2022, for just over $11.8 billion had been awarded to eight contractors via the national procurement process. The winning contractors were VR Construction Inc, Avinash Contracting & Scrap Metal Inc, L’Heureuse Construction and Services Inc, GuyAmerica Construction Inc, AJM Enterprise, Vals Construction, Puran Bros Disposal Inc, and JS Guyana Inc.
Citizen Francis Michael Bailey took to social media platform, Facebook, to highlight what he believes are inferior works for a project that was billed initially at $11 billion but with a final figure given as $15 billion without any explanation for the over-$4 billion cost overrun.
Bailey videoed areas on the road that he pointed out seemed substandard which included drain covers that had rebar handles sticking out.
“Let’s take a tour of a section of the Schoonord-to-Crane highway. Recently completed to a tune of 15 billion dollars, though contracts were initially signed for 11 billion dollars. I’ll walk you through a section of the roads connecting to the new harpy eagle roundabout and we’ll head east to west along a section of road completed by Avinash Scrap Metal & Construction. Eight successful bidders would have originally signed contracts for the construction of this project. We can see from recent articles that it also involved engineers from the government,” he wrote in an introduction for the video.
“While the centerpiece of the roundabout I cover in this episode is fantastic, a good road is more than a centerpiece. I went to view with my own eyes and form my own opinions on the quality of work on display and to determine whether there were any safety hazards that would provide impediments to pedestrians of all ages. Good infrastructure is supposed to serve all walks of society and I hope we can an agree on that,” he added.
Bailey posited that Guyana lacks historic accountability. “Because no party has ever been mature enough to relinquish their petty obsession with looking good and trying to divert attention from anything that makes them look bad. From childhood to adulthood I have watched these guys point fingers at each other, all the while waiting for someone to put a hand up and take ownership of the situation. Our politicians have become so obsessed with image we would shun any reality that doesn’t coexist with the narrative being crafted. I still long for a day when our leaders on both sides of the divide, don’t only notice what is wrong when they are in opposition. I long to tune into a parliamentary debate and not think I’m at the back of the fish market listening to a ‘buse out’ over a mossing banga mary.”
He continued, “I long for a day when the defects and liability period on projects like this, where there is glaring evidence of substandard work, isn’t allowed to expire because ‘nobody notices’. May we come to the realisation that beyond the revolving doors to the halls of power, we, the citizens, are left to trip, fall, and impale ourselves on shoddy work. May we turn our attention to the message more and stop shooting the messengers.”
The commentator also pointed out that no mention was made of the change in costs but noted that a slip lane was to be added.
“I also wondered how come an extra lane was promised in the initial signing of the contracts for 11billion but at the celebrations when it was announced that the project would be 15 billion, there was talk of having to add a slip lane? Does there mean there was insufficient planning at the design phase? How much will it cost and how long will it take? So many questions go unanswered in this land.”
Further, he added,” I hope someone in charge sees this and gets the relevant contractor to fix the issues raised. It really irks me that public safety is always at the bottom of the agenda in Guyana. It’s irksome that half of us feel condemned to silence at any given time though we all suffer for the same incompetence.”
President Ali said that he addressed Bailey’s issue in a document he received from the project engineers and which he made public and shared with journalist, Denis Chabrol.
“Comments made about the works done on Schoonord Road via video posted on social media by Mr. Francis Michael Bailey. Please note that the following comments below were made by Mr. Bailey in the video posted. 1) Formwork in place under and between drain covers (tripping hazards). 2) Rebar handles protruding above drain covers (sticking out). 3) Covers claimed to not be casted in individual units. 4) Claims of poorly casted concrete covers. 5) Claims of unfinished drain works leading into Parfaite [La Parfaite Harmonie] Housing Scheme. 6) Claims of pot holes being patched on the highway,” the document notes.
In Ali’s “Response to the comments/claims made” he listed and addressed each of the areas he had before highlighted.
“The formwork supporting the drain covers are there due to the covers has not reached the curing age. These covers will be hoisted to remove the formwork under and beneath them when the required strength is met. 2. Rebar handles protruding above drain covers (sticking out).These handles were placed in such a way that when the formwork beneath the covers is removed, the handle will drop and finish with the cover, so as to not be a tripping hazard. As such, when the formwork is removed, the handles will not be ‘sticking out,’” the document stated.
“The covers shown in the video are all casted individually allowing them to be removed for cleaning. However, concrete covered the formwork separating these covers making them seem as one large slab which is not the case. 4. Claims of poorly casted concrete covers – all covers were casted with 5100 psi concrete and cube samples were taken and tested to confirm they meet the requirements. The concrete works done on the drains met the requirements and are structurally sound. The cracks observed were due to the contractor trying to hoist the covers a day after they were casted to remove the formwork and they did not meet the required strength as mentioned in the first response above,” the document adds
And where there were claims of drains not finished leading into Parfaite Housing scheme, the document said, “Please be informed that the drain works are completed where the widening of the carriageway ends and the section of road leading into Parfaite was upgraded and not widened, As such the construction of RC drains leading into the parfait scheme was NOT a part of that scope.”
On Bailey’s highlighting of what looked like patched sections of the road, Ali explained, “The asphalt overlay “patch” observed on the roadway was NOT a result of any potholes. They were no potholes on the Schoonord road that was patched.”
Yesterday, Bailey expressed disappointment with the responses as he said that he believed that his exposé would have helped government to hold the contractor accountable but instead it seems as if it has sided with them.
“Apparently we have no issues with substandard work in this country. Call me stupid, but I honestly thought these guys would make the contractors fix the glaring problems instead of siding with them. I’m just here wondering who this government are really representing and who they are really working for,” he expressed.
