Local gov’t ministry issued completion certificate for stelling though project had obvious defects -Works minister

The Ministry of Local Government supervised the construction of the Pomeroon/Supenaam ferry stelling and later issued a certificate of completion to BK International even though the completed project had obvious defects, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn said yesterday.

Robeson Benn

The ferry stelling, now inoperable due to structural problems, was completed to the tune of $431M of contract approved funds and an additional $17.2M was expended by the Ministry of Public Works in modification works. The modifications included a drawbridge and a pontoon, both of which Benn said were “absolutely necessary” because the ministry took over the stelling “with great concerns.”

Benn and a team including General Manager (ag) of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) Khevin Trim yesterday defended their involvement in the project saying the installation of the 1.7 ton steel drawbridge was to guarantee the safe offloading and reloading of vehicles, particularly trucks. Benn said flotation was a major issue at the facility, noting earlier defects as identified by his ministry had not been addressed by BK International.

BK International has accused the Ministry of bungling the project with its modifications, an accusation Benn rejected saying he is angered by the suggestion he would deliberately create a situation which compromised public safety. “It’s a highly preposterous statement and I am looking into these statements in addition to seeking legal advice from the Attorney General Chambers,” Benn told reporters at a press conference yesterday.

The Minister frankly said he was unhappy with statements in the press which were attributed to BK International head, Brian Tiwari, and he declared that no contractor would be allowed to complete such a project in the country without concerns being raised by his ministry and/or its passionate involvement. “The culture has changed,” Benn stated, and he referred to public statements made by Tiwari as simply “eye pass” of him, his ministry and the engineers from T&HD who were involved in the project.

According to Benn, economic reasons guided the ministry’s decision to take over a defective stelling. The ministry was losing millions in fuel costs every month in the Essequibo area, he said, noting the new Supenaam facility was estimated to save around $1M a day once it was operational. Four days after being opened for use, the stelling was forced to close on Tuesday last after the end beam of the loading ramp buckled when vehicles were being loaded onto a vessel.

Benn said his ministry and the T&HD was not involved in the project supervision after it was awarded to BK International, the Ministry of Local Government was. The contract and its specifications were not handled by the Public Works Ministry, Benn emphasized yesterday.  He said various delays were reported in addition to the project completion schedule lapsing by some 439 days. “…various extensions were granted,” he said, noting the ministry had openly criticized the works carried out by BK International prior to taking over the stelling. The criticisms ranged from the finished quality of the stelling, the integrity of the ramp and the flotation of the pontoon and its durability, among other things. Benn said his ministry submitted a report on the facility in December last year and had pointed out its concerns in addition to raising further questions about the general integrity of the structure which BK International constructed.

The criticisms, he noted, were made in the presence of a representative from BK International during a visit to the stelling in January this year. Benn said the response garnered from the company at the time was that any modifications would be classified as additional works, which the company had to be remunerated for. “The Ministry of Local Government said it had no money to pay BK and neither did we so this ministry, under pressure to make this stelling operational, decided it would fix the problems internally,” he said.

The ministry installed the drawbridge and another pontoon at a cost of $17.2M. Benn said his ministry could not have foreseen the “other issues” surrounding the facility, issues which he said included the strength of the steel works and the integrity of the end beam. He said the end beam was not constructed to withstand any pressure. Due to the vast difference between the vessel and the ramp, he said it rendered the traditional timber planks inadequate. Further, Benn said prior to the commencement of operations the measured distance between the pier and the ramp ranged from six inches during high tide to nine inches during low tide. “To date these distances have not changed,” he observed, noting the flap covering this opening was incorrectly installed.

In January tests were conducted on the facility and according to Benn, these were not successful. However, he said a report in the Guyana Times said the tests were successful, and he called on the newspaper to make the necessary changes. He said at that time the need for a drawbridge was recognized in addition to the issues with flotation. Subsequent to this, discussions were held about the flotation units which were not in use at the Demerara Harbour Bridge to be used at the facility at Supenaam, but this was decided against after the units were deemed unsuitable.

Benn said after the incident on Tuesday last BK International could have simply stated its position, which is that the facility was constructed according to design, and provide his ministry with an opportunity to respond to the claims the company made before it publicly “abused” it. The Minister said he is unhappy that a government contractor would make “such presumptuous statements with respect to my involvement in this project and that of my ministry.”

Further, he said BK International had oligarchic aspirations with respect to its relationship with the ministry, and he warned that no contractor would be allowed to control the ministry. He said the Works Ministry will carry out its obligations and remain passionately involved in any project that concerns it. Benn said he welcomes the review which is to be undertaken by the Prime Minister, noting that it is likely to bear out his ministry’s position on the issue.

BK International has charged that the modifications made by the Ministry of Works have compromised the structural integrity of the Region Two stelling, and has also said that it had completed the project to the exact design and specifications required of it and it was certified and handed over to the government as a completed project. Tiwari had accused the Works Ministry of “wilfully” damaging the structure. “They have damaged this place entirely. I don’t know how we’ll move with this from here because they have brutalized every single thing,” he said. “They put us in a terrible situation here now by coming and mess this whole place up,” he added.