-questions still linger
Two contracts for the four-lane highway from Meer-Zorgen to Schoonord were added together and is the reason a price tag of $15 billion is being stated for the two-phase project which seeks to shorten traffic times on the West Bank of Demerara, Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal has said.
“It’s one project but with two roads; two phases… you have that first road, the Meer-Zorgen Highway as right ahead soon you come off the [Demerara Harbour] bridge and that takes you to Schoonord to Crane Highway. It is two separate projects that is why the cost is $15 billion,” Croal told Stabroek News.
“So you have the $11 billion-plus for the Schoonord to Crane and then you have the rest for that [Meer-Zorgen] to Schoonord… I don’t see the problem,” he added.
Earlier this month, he said that as government plans for the future, additional routes are added and both roads add to the shortened commute time for Guyana’s populace.
Croal noted that when the new Demerara Harbour Bridge “is completed it would be interlinked”.
The Schoonord-to-Crane project agreement, which was signed 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 Con-struction Inc, AJM Enterprise, Vals Construction, Puran Bros Disposal Inc, and JS Guyana Inc.
However, some of these sections were significantly delayed and no information has been provided on if there were cost overruns and whether any liquidated damages had been applied. Information of this type has not been provided for all major government projects.
The Meer-Zorgen project was Phase II and it was to construct a road using the Rigid Pavement method, commonly called concrete roads. It was first used here during the construction of the Mandela Avenue to Eccles High-way, according to CH&PA.
When the project was commissioned on August 29th this year, President Irfaan Ali had only referred to the Schoonord to Crane aspect and it led to questions being asked about the disparity in costs.
Citizen Francis Michael Bailey had taken to Facebook to highlight what he said was inferior work for a project that was billed initially at $11 billion, then had a final figure of $15 billion without any explanation for the over-$4 billion cost overrun.
And while government has said it is two separate projects, no documents or explanation were made public giving a breakdown to show how the total was arrived at, given that the estimate for the Meer-Zorgen project was stated at $1 billion by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. If so it would mean that an explanation still has to be given as to how that project swelled from $1b to $4b.
Bailey videoed areas of 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. Recent-ly completed to a tune of $15 billion, though contracts were initially signed for $11 billion. 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 & Construc-tion. Eight successful bidders would have originally signed contracts for the construction of this project. We can see from recent articles that it also involv-ed engineers from the government,” he wrote in an introduction for the video.
“While the centrepiece of the roundabout I cover in this episode is fantastic, a good road is more than a centrepiece. 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 lacked 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’ …”
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 $11 billion 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.
