There is no sign that any work has been done for a while on the controversial Belle Vue pump station even though its August 2025 extended deadline for completion is just over four months away.
Yesterday, an unnamed person standing guard by the facility remarked, “When the workers finish the wuk they doing in Diamond, they will come here and do this wuk.” However, when asked for clarification on what “wuk” was being done in Diamond, the individual could not provide any further information.
The $865 million Belle Vue pump station project has been mired in delays since its award to Tepui Inc, a company with no previous experience in building a pump station, led by social media personality Mikhail Rodrigues, on September 22, 2023. The project has faced widespread criticism, not only because of Tepui’s inexperience but also due to the company’s alleged ties to prominent government figures.
Last month, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) had denied accusations of tardiness in addressing the matter. The PPC stated that its actions were in line with its mandate, insisting that the responsibility to monitor the contractor’s performance and take necessary action ultimately lay with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), which oversees the project. In a statement, the PPC outlined that its constitutional responsibilities were to monitor public procurement practices and investigate the processes, but it did not have the authority to cancel or alter contracts directly.
According to the PPC, it took action shortly after receiving a formal complaint from opposition Member of Parliament David Patterson on October 3, 2023. However, delays in receiving required documents from the NDIA hindered its ability to act swiftly, it added. The PPC clarified that it did not receive the full set of documents until January 2025 and only then was able to conduct a comprehensive site assessment.
In January 2025, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha reported to Parliament that only 10% of the work had been completed on the Belle Vue pump station, despite Tepui receiving a significant advance payment of $182 million.
Opposition MP Ganesh Mahipaul, who had visited the site, described the condition of the project as “stagnant” and criticized the $182 million advance, noting that it appeared to have been misused as there were no visible signs of progress — only a pool of stagnant water on the site.
Mahipaul called for the termination of the contract, urging the government to recover the taxpayers’ money and ensure that future contracts are awarded based on competence rather than political connections. “We need to move away from a system where contracts are given to friends, family, and favourites,” he stressed.
The Auditor General’s report from 2024 highlighted further discrepancies in the project’s execution. Despite the contract being signed in September 2023 with a duration of 18 months for completion, minimal work had been done on the site by August 2024. The report detailed that only basic site preparations such as the construction of cofferdams and the demolition of the old sluice structure had been completed, with little evidence of substantial progress in the core aspects of the project.
In addition, a review by the PPC revealed that Tepui did not meet several key requirements in its bid, including previous experience in similar projects and providing an audited financial statement. Despite these deficiencies, Tepui’s bid was deemed “responsive” by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, prompting further questions about the integrity of the procurement process.
