Ramjattan is spot-on with his Marriott Hotel queries

Apr 28, 2013 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Please allow me to respond to an issue which AFC leader Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan commented on. It was published in the Kaieteur News.  Mr Ramjattan  article was titled “that scandalous Marriott Hotel Project Ponzi scheme” printed on  March 3, 2013. Mr. Ramjattan has raised many  ’provocative’ issues. My primary concerns pertain to safety and technical contractual requirements.
Mr. Ramjattan inquires: ”are the precautionary steps concerning safety measures being taken? Is the construction being scrutinized by the relevant geotechnical experts”? This inquiry is legitimate. Building construction must observe worldwide rules and regulations.  Just to start a new construction, addition, modification, or renovation of a building in NYC requires an official building permit. Detailed safety requirements must be followed to complete these types of constructions.
The NY City Department of Buildings requires a Site Safety Manager to be present during certain types of construction. The Site Safety Manager must be certified by the Department of Buildings. The Construction Manager must monitor weather conditions i.e., rain, wind, storms, etc. each day. If there is inclement weather all construction must cease. If there is a violation of any Safety requirement your construction permit will be revoked.
The Construction company is then forced to cease all construction and correct all violations. The Building Department will then send an Inspector to inspect and verify that corrective action was taken in compliance to the Safety Requirements. The Contractor is required a permit from the NYC Fire Department for hazardous materials, some of which may be in use on construction and demolition sites. In addition, uniformed and non-uniformed members of the Fire Department of New York routinely inspect the construction and demolition sites to ensure compliance with fire safety standards.
The NYC Department of Environmental Protection will also oversee the construction for compliance to Environmental regulations. Guyana is below sea level and prone to flooding. This type of condition calls for detailed Geotechnical Engineering tests and analysis. The objective of the engineering geologist is to protect life and property against damage caused by geologic conditions. Were any engineering geologic report, geotechnical report, fault hazard or seismic hazard report, geophysical report, ground water resource report, hydro geologic report, etc., issued on the site?  Were engineers representing the government/city present at the site?
Did they review and performed analysis on these reports? In reference to the actual Construction of the Marriott Hotel Mr. Ramjattan states “I am skeptical about the integrity of the construction from what I have been hearing from questioning engineers who are not allowed to take a peek at what is happening there in Kingston, much less to gain entrance onto the grounds and precincts”. Again Mr. Ramjattan’s concerns are legitimate.
Lack of Guyanese oversight can lead to noncompliance of  technical requirements in the contract.  Are all plans, drawings, blueprints, etc. adequately prepared for this project? Did Guyanese government engineers, architect, etc. approved all the plans? Who performed and approved the structural design and analysis? Is the architect licensed by the Government of Guyana? The NYC Department of Buildings must verify and approve all construction plans before a work permit is issued to commence construction on a project. It verifies  that the design meets all the NYC Building codes, rules and regulations. During construction, compliance with the design plan must be done by Guyanese.
The NYC Building requires inspection during each stage of construction not at its conclusion. The foundation, structure, concrete, roof, plumbing, electrical, etc. must be inspected by the separate and respective NYC Building inspectors. Which Guyanese agency is  performing these inspections on this project? All construction project require independent verification and inspection of their technical contractual requirements.
The contractor should never be  left on his own to inspect himself. If contractors are allowed to perform self inspection many more incidents like the tragic building collapse in Bangladesh that killed more than 300 citizens  recently will occur. However,  construction in Guyana seems to be unique.  No wonder residents complain about shoddy road work  which break up after the next rainfall. The Marriott Hotel is beginning to be another  ’black hole’ where taxpayers money is being flushed.
Patanjali Rambrich

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