Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 08, 2014 News
There seems to be more hiccups with the East Coast Demerara Public Road four-lane expansion project, with another contractor carrying out poor quality works.
A reliable source told Kaieteur News that the section of the road under contention is from Mon Repos to De Endragt, and is being executed by Colin Talbot.
According to the source, on Monday representatives of the Public Works Ministry in the presence of the contractor tested the strength of the concrete and it failed.
“Yesterday (Monday) the Ministry did a compaction test and found that in the 28 days the concrete was way below half of the required strength,” the source said.
The source also noted that the same concrete was used to erect drains and sections of the road. The structures are now failing, due to heavy-duty machinery that is transporting building materials for residents.
According to the source, previously the contractor only wanted to carry out works during the nights, which made it difficult for personnel from the Ministry to inspect. “The poor quality works being executed was possibly the reason why the contractor wanted to work at nights,” the source said.
Another worrying matter with this aspect of the expansion project is its possible inability to conclude by the March deadline. The project is only 65 percent completed and Government has awarded another contract to the contractor.
The source said that the contractor is now required to construct from De Endragt to Good Hope. It was noted this new section has not been identified by a Lot and costs about $300M.
In 2012, the expansion project in Lot One, from Better Hope to Montrose, experienced controversy with the termination of the contract to Falcon Transport and Construction Services. The contractor had claimed that his refusal to offer kickback and gifts cost him the contract.
The company claimed that Ministry of Public Works officials as well as a ‘Big Man’ from the Ministry of Finance had made demands for kickbacks from the $468M contract.
The Ministry subsequently claimed that the contractor executed poor quality works and accused him of committing forgery. Public Works Minister Robeson Benn was adamant that fraudulent submissions and non-performance should have been the focus.
He had related that in April, a site visit showed numerous defects to the project and the contractor was asked to make corrections, but they were never done. But the fraudulent submissions of concrete-testing results and purchase and provision of steel were the main bones of contention.
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