The repair of a deteriorated 200 metres section of Thomas Lands which Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill said would have commenced last week, has not materialized as neither the contractor, Pooran Manman and Sons Contracting Services, nor signs of works’ preparation was evident as of yesterday.
Last Wednesday, Edghill, who had previously praised the contractor in reference to the very road project, told Stabroek News that due to substandard work done, the contractor was obligated to mend that part of the road. Edghill was further emphatic when he told Stabroek News that the contractor was organizing to start work by the end of last week, and there would be no additional cost to the government.
“So now he (the contractor) has to pick up all the asphalt, put down fresh asphalt and roll it with a ten-ton roller, I’ve spoken to Mr. Pooran Manman this afternoon (last Wednesday) and he said he’s going to get himself organized by the end of the week to get the work done…the engineers would’ve warned him (the company’s contractor) and they (the company) have not been paid for the asphalted work because it did not pass the test,” stated Edghill.
The 3-months’ $30 million contract was awarded to Pooran Manman and Sons Contracting Services in May of this year and following its completion in June, a Department of Public Information (DPI) article reported Edghill as showering praise on the company for the timeliness in completing the project and the quality of work executed.
“Guyanese contractor Pooran Manman and Sons Contracting Services received glowing tributes from Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill during a recent inspection of works executed on the Thomas Lands Road, Georgetown,” said the DPI article.
“We are very pleased. We are satisfied that the contractor has seen the need to get the job done because one, it is a main artery, and once under construction it created some amount of difficulty where traffic flow was concerned, and we are happy that he has worked beyond hours to get it completed. So, we are satisfied.” The article added that, “at the commencement of the $30 million three-month project in May, the contractor was urged by the government to provide the highest quality of service and delivery within the project scope and timeline.”
It was noted that Geo-Cell, a new technology previously mentioned by Edghill, was used during the road’s rehabilitation, with DPI noting that, “this new technology was used to prevent the shoulders from slipping into the canals in the absence of revetment, forging a strong life span…the sub-base was built with eight inches of crusher- run and two inches of asphalt to improve the overall endurance of the road.”
However, according to Edghill, the quick deterioration of the road has nothing to do with new technologies, but rather with the use of a light compression three-ton roller instead of a ten-ton roller that fully compresses the asphalt.
The failure of the asphalting will add to concerns that the government is rushing headlong into infrastructure works without proper planning and adequate supervision. It is unclear why the engineer overseeing the project did not insist on a 10-tonne roller.
Stabroek News has attempted to elicit a location and telephone number for Pooran Manman and Sons Contracting Services without success.
