Was involved with design of the sea defence construction in 1972

Dear Editor,

I refer to Mr Philip Allsopp’s letter in SN dated March 13(‘It would be improper to challenge the integrity of the Marriott foundation…’) and would like to say that I did not ask him as a soil expert to challenge the foundation design for the Marriott Hotel, but only to comment as regards the type of foundation designed by the Chinese for the project.

I guess I ask for too much as he worked in Guyana all his life and may only be familiar with the type of timber piling used profusely in Guyana and not the type of piling used by the Chinese for the Marriott.

I note that he referred to me possibly as an Inspector working on the Georgetown Sea Defence construction in 1972 and I would like to inform him I was involved with the design along with Nedeco the Dutch consultant as well as Lawrence Charles and Barry Manson-Hing (both deceased).

He was not involved in any way with this construction except that his opinion was sought in relation to the design mix for the bitumen grouting of the boulders.

The Hydraulics Division eventually hired a German consultant to supervise the bitumen mix.

I also recall as CWHO he hired a local consultant to design the National Cultural Centre and he asked me to check the design calculations. I was also a Chartered Structural Engineer and when I pointed to serious engineering mistakes in the design he fired the consultant and instructed me to continue the design process. It was a complicated building to design with a free-standing staircase, steel trusses over 100 ft span, etc.

When the project was finished I was not compensated for the extra work done. I was eventually paid by Mr Burnham after I complained to him.

I hope this is the end of this matter.

 

Yours faithfully,
M Alli