Hope Canal sluice gates contract yanked from Courtney Benn

The contract for the fabrication, delivery and installation of gates for the Hope Canal sluice has been yanked from Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited (CBCSL) and awarded to another company.

This aspect of the controversial $3.6 billion Hope Canal Project (HCP) is the one farthest behind schedule with the project having been hit by delays and several deadlines being missed. In mid-April, Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told Stabroek News that CBCSL was being given time to complete the project. “I would wish that it could be done, but it is not going to be done before June period,” he had said. Up to that point, he had told Stabroek News that three of the four components of the project were completed with only the eight-gate sluice by CBCSL still to be finished.

Last week, Ramsammy told Stabroek News that Cabinet approved $44.4 million for the fabrication and delivery of the gates for the Hope Canal sluice. He said that the contract was taken from CBCSL and a subcontract awarded to another firm for the installation of the gates. The minister explained that the amount under the CBCSL contact was removed