How NIS Berbice branch costs $69M…Windows were over-estimated by $800,000

Oct 02, 2011 News

After almost five weeks of probing questions over the overpriced $69M Corriverton branch of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Government has asked Kaieteur News to write another letter requesting additional information.
Last week, NIS Chairman and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, when questioned about whether he would be willing to allow the newspaper access to the Berbice building for a post-construction audit and for additional cost details, the official said that Kaieteur News should place the request in writing.

The Bill of Quantity for doors and windows for the $69M NIS branch at Corriverton.

It will be recalled that Kaieteur News had published pictures of the newly commissioned branch which government said was built for a whopping $69M.
The newspaper had also published pictures of three homes it had built for staffers in Diamond which cost under $7M each. It had called for government to produce the Bills of Quantities and other costs which led to the $69M being spent.
Dr Luncheon had asked the newspaper to produce the cost of the homes and in turn the government would provide the information.
However, while Kaieteur News handed over all the receipts of the monies spent, government only released the Engineer’s Estimate.
That document itself produced some startling revelations like $6.5M being projected for the roof, almost $500,000 for a septic tank and $3M for a generator hut.
That Engineer’s Estimate for the construction projected that it would have cost just over $50M, a stunning figure for a 40 feet by 60 feet building, some observers and neighbours said.
In one of the Bill of Quantities examined — “Doors and Window”–  pine doors estimated at $25,000—double the estimated $13,000 real cost.
But it was the windows–two of them were fitted to 13 frames– that took the cake. The Engineer’s Estimate said that 26 of these would cost $56,000 each. In total these windows, measuring 36 inches by 54 inches, would have cost $1,456,000. Hardware stores have them around $25,000 each, which suggested that the windows were in all likelihood over-estimated by almost $800,000.

An Engineer’s Estimate projected that windows for this building would have cost double than what it is being sold for in hardware stores.

According to another Bill of Quantities described as ‘Rainwater Goods and Cold Water Distribution’, plumbing for five toilets, toilet sets, face sinks, gutters and three Tuff Tanks and gutter works all came up to an astounding $1,377,300.
During the course of its investigations, Kaieteur News discovered that the contract for the Corriverton branch was not awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB). The contract was instead, in all likelihood, awarded by NIS.