Amaila Falls Access road misses another deadline

… Engineer says he is not authorized to speak

By Gary Eleazar, May 12, 2014, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source

The Amaila Falls Access Road has missed yet another completion deadline and efforts to garner any details from the officials proved futile.

Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn, during his presentation during the 2014 Budget Debates had announced that the road would be completed at the end of last month.

This did not occur.

Senior Govt. Engineer Walter Willis

Contacted earlier this week, the Minister confirmed that there has been a delay due mainly to rains but he indicated that he would have to get the necessary information from the Chief Engineer Walter Willis.

Efforts to contact the Minister since have been fruitless as he has not been taking any calls on his mobile numbers, and calls to his office are met with a response that he is not in office.

Willis when contacted by this publication said he has not been authorized by the Minister to make any pronouncements as it relates to the road.
The delay in the completion of the road is also compounded by the fact that the final cost of the construction of the Amaila Falls Access Road is still to be had.

Government is yet to finalise and allocate contracts for two key crossings, the Kuribrong and Butakari.

It is expected that the Butakari crossing would be via pontoon while the design for a bridge across the Kuribrong River has been completed.
Furthermore, the initial US$15.4M contract issued to Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall, which was inked in 2010 based on specifications provided by Sithe Global, was increased by US$1.9M.

This revelation was made by the Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh to his shadow counterpart in the National Assembly, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Carl Greenidge.

Greenidge had tabled a formal question to the Minister in the House in which he queried the cost of the amendment of the specifications of the Amaila Road contract, undertaken after the termination of the contract with Synergy Holdings Inc.

The Finance Minister in his response said that during the course of construction in 2012, the scope was revised after taking account of third party inspections of the terrain, environmental consideration, maintenance requirements and the detailed negotiation ongoing with China Railway First Group.

A completed section of the Amaila Falls Access Road at one of the many crossings

 

This publication understands that the width of the road had to be increased from five to seven meters and the embankment had to be raised accordingly.

“The cost of the amendment of the specifications of the Amaila Falls Access Road Contract amounted to US$1.9M, taking the contract sum of Synergy Holdings Inc. to US$17.3M.”

Motilall was paid US$5.8M before his contract was terminated.
The current costs include both changes in specifications and other changes in costs since 2010.

This would mean that US$29.6M would have been spent thus far on the project and this figure will increase further when the cost of the two river crossings is determined and contracts executed.

According to the Finance Minister, on March 18, 2010, a contract agreement for the construction of the Amaila Falls Access Road and Transmission Line Clearing was entered into between Synergy Holdings Inc. and the Government of Guyana, represented by the Ministry of Public Works and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

The specifications for the building of the road were provided by Sithe Global and reviewed by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NIICIL) and the Ministry of Public Works.

The Finance Minister explained that given that the contract was jointly executed by both NICIL and the Ministry of Public Works, the tender documents were jointly reviewed by the two contract parties in consultation with Sithe Global.

The Finance Minister said that the tenders received were reviewed by a three-person evaluation team comprising Walter Willis, Leon Goring, and Gordon Gilkes, and the evaluation report was submitted ultimately to Cabinet for its no-objection.

The road project is being undertaken in a number of segments, with the Ministry of Public Works assuming responsibility for ‘Section Two.’

That section runs along the Mabura Road to the Essequibo River and has a contract price of $336,094,861.

Section Three was allocated to Toolsie Persaud Quarries Inc. for $373.3M. That section of the Amaila Falls road stretches from Butukari to the Kaburi Village bypass.

The same company has also been awarded a contract for Section Four of the road for $246M.

Section Four runs between from the Kaburi/Omai junction to the Issano bypass.

Ivor Allen was awarded the $182.3M contract for Section Five of the road that runs from the Issano junction to Craig Road.

Section Six of the road was awarded to G. Bovell Construction Services for $281.7M, but had to be terminated.

It was subsequently granted in two lots, with the first from Issano Junction to Sorrow Hill being allocated to Ivor Allen for $145M.

The second lot of Section Six was awarded to Dwarka Nauth for $45M.

Hassan N Pasha General Building and Civil Contractor was handed the last and reportedly the most difficult section of the road, ‘Section Seven’ with a contract price of $838M.

That contract was terminated in April 2012 after only 15 per cent of the work was completed.

Pasha received almost $315M.

The contract was subsequently handed to China Railway First Group (Guyana) Inc. for $1.7B (US$8.5M).