Roll-on/ Roll-off ferries… Works Minister unaware of BK contract

Dec 21, 2011 News

The two Roll-On/ Roll-Off ferries from China are currently stalled in Trinidad until further notice. In the meantime, the construction to modify the Parika Stelling, East Bank Essequibo is forging ahead to accommodate the ferries arrival into Guyana.
The ferries are to operate between the Parika stelling and the Supenaam Stelling. No work, though, has started on the Supenaam stelling.

Construction underway

Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn said that both stellings were to undergo construction simultaneously. Benn added that he was unaware of BK International being awarded two contracts.
One contract was to modify the Parika Stelling at a cost of $240.1 million and the other to modify the Supenaam Stelling at a cost of some $138 million.
Back in October BK International had promised to complete both stellings within four months after he had won the bids ahead of four other contractors.
The four-month deadline is set to expire on December 31. Benn, when contacted, did not have information on when construction will begin for the Supenaam Stelling. At this time, Guyana will have to wait and see what happens.
Agriculture
The Agriculture sector is predicting an expansion of traditional crops with the introduction of the Roll-On/Roll-Off ferries operating between Parika and Supenaam.
According to Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture Ali Baksh, there are daily ferries that can hold up to 15 trunk loads of crops, but the ferries are quite old.
The two new ferries fabricated by the Chinese can hold up to 60 vehicles and will cut travel time by an hour and a half. Their flat bottoms will allow for movement through any tide for more convenience, he added.
Baksh said that the current rice production increase will benefit greatly from the easy transport that the ferries are believed to provide. He stated that 150,000-200,000 paddies are transported region to region.
The cost for transport on the new ferries has not been discussed as yet according to Baksh, but when the figure is declared the people will know.