(Trinidad Guardian) The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) intends to demolish more than half of the 100 housing units at the troubled Trestrail Development, located off La Resource Road, D’Abadie, due to infrastructure issues that have plagued the development. The buildings to be torn down are valued at millions of dollars.
Despite this, the contractor Ricky Raghunanan will be paid millions for work done on the development. The project, which began at $72 million VAT exclusive, is now estimated to be $112 million.
At this point, the sum to be paid to Raghunanan is being negotiated between him and the HDC’s lawyers since he was fired from the project in April of this year.
In a statement to the Sunday Guardian yesterday, the HDC could not confirm how many units would be demolished.
The Sunday Guardian understands that a resolution was passed by the HDC board and that Raghunanan was informed of their decision given that it would affect negotiations already underway.
“The Trinidad and Tobago Housing Development Corporation (HDC) will not demolish all the buildings at Trestrail. This decision was based on a report commissioned by an independent company’s testing of the structural integrity of the units constructed.
“This contract, a Design-Build Finance, requires payment on delivery of fit-for-purpose units as per the agreed terms and contract. As a result, payments will be made in accordance with costs expended less costs of retrofitting defective units,” the company said in a statement.
Contacted yesterday, Raghunanan said he was informed by the HDC of its decision but said, “My lawyers are dealing with it.”
The HDC contract with Raghunanan had two anomalies: He did not have a track record of constructing housing developments. Trestrail was his first housing development.
Unlike other Design-Build Finance contracts in the public service, Raghunanan did not post a performance bond. He was allowed by the HDC to start and almost complete the project without posting a performance bond or any part thereof.
The contract, valued at $72,043,871.90 (VAT exclusive) for the construction of 103 homes, was awarded to Raghunanan on January 29, 2020.
According to the contract, the housing units should have been completed within 240 days from the day of commencement, which was November 20, 2020.
“The HDC intends to deliver on its mandate of providing government-subsidised units to those most deserving by constructing houses on its lands intended for its customers, particularly those who patiently opted to await the completion of the Trestrail project,” it added.
As it stands, there are more than 180,000-plus applicants throughout the country awaiting homes.
Fired from Trestrail
On March 22, the HDC wrote to Raghunanan indicating their intention to terminate the contract after a 14-day notice period. That period ended on April 6, after which Raghunanan was expelled from the site.
The Sunday Guardian reported that the HDC’s decision followed extensive meetings with Raghunanan to address the shortcomings in the project and his inability to meet the HDC’s requirement to post the performance bond.
On January 18, after the HDC issued their first notice of termination, Raghunanan wrote to the HDC indicating that he was not in agreement with the HDC’s position in relation to the termination of the contract and indicated that he would meet the performance bond requirement subject to certain conditions and his satisfaction of certain conditions.
In a press statement on the matter, the HDC said its board of management had concerns about certain structural issues on the project and, as a result, commissioned CEP Limited to conduct a study on the structural issues affecting the project.
The study identified several defects, including with the foundation, the concrete first-floor slab, and the inability to support loads.
A Geotechnical Investigative Report by EISL Limited in 2022 found that ‘the failures observed on-site have been known to be associated with non-conformance to basic construction methods and quality control requirements as it relates to building foundations.’
In the HDC’s view, 1,151 days had passed since the contract was issued, and attempts to get Raghunanan to comply with corrective action in the housing units have been futile, adding further delays to adding the houses to the HDC system. In addition, the HDC also failed, despite repeated letters to the company, to get Raghunanan to post the performance bond.
The HDC, in collaboration with CEP Limited, has taken over the project.
After the units are demolished, the HDC would probably have to re-tender for parts of it.
Opposition MP Roodal Moonilal had called for a probe into the stalled project, alleging that millions of state funds could be wasted.
He also accused the HDC of failing to exercise its “fiduciary duty” concerning the condition of about 100 units at the housing project.
For her part, Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said the contractor had to fund all remedial works.
Despite the concerns raised by the HDC about the quality of work done on the project, Guardian Media reported that Ricky Raghunanan Limited was awarded at least four more state contracts by the Ministry of Works and Transport worth more than $7.4 million.
Last Thursday, the HDC also invited several contractors to tour Trestrail and “invite you, amongst others, to submit a Quotation for the Provision of Demolition Services for Trestrail Phase 1 R.”
According to the HDC, the contractor’s bid should be submitted as an overall lump sum price with the following to be considered and quoted on: Preliminaries, Substructure, Superstructure and Infrastructure.
