Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 19, 2011 News
Authorities were forced to close the multi-million-dollar Supenaam stelling once again last evening as high tide caused the ramp to slip from a pontoon.
Traffic, officials said, had to be shifted to the ailing Adventure Stelling until engineers could assess the situation.
According to Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, the incident happened late yesterday as the Baramani, a pontoon, was loading.
“We don’t have the details as yet but apparently the pontoon slipped out from ramp.” It is only a few weeks now that the facilities reopened after a year when the supporting beam of the drawbridge that loads vehicles into the ferry buckled.
The problematic stelling, on which more than $500M has been spent so far, inclusive of remedial repairs, was down since last year May. Government had been desperate to put the stelling to use because of the aging Adventure Stelling and because of the travel time it would have cut to Essequibo which residents have been clamouring for a solution for a long time.
Initially, Government had awarded BK International the contract to build the stelling. The work was plagued by delays. The Ministry of Local Government had reportedly ‘okayed’ the facility but the Ministry of Public Works expressed concerns with a number of technical problems, including aspects of loading.
The Public Works, in taking over the facility, had installed another pontoon and a drawbridge but shortly after the opening the beam collapsed.
BK International distanced itself, claiming that it built the stelling according to specifications of the designs. President Bharrat Jagdeo had ordered an investigation last year with a view to finding answers.
However, two engineers who were tasked by Prime Minister Sam Hinds to carry out the probe, failed to find a single party at fault.
It was unclear how the Ministry of Local Government in the first place okayed the works, releasing the payments to the contractor and other parties.
Earlier this year, government allocated over $50M to conduct repairs to the stelling and reopened it a few weeks ago.
Initially, Government had said that $431M was spent. That was before it expended another $18M to install another pontoon and to construct a drawbridge.
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