US$18M Specialty Hospital embarrassment… “Bankrupt” Indian firm disappears; court grants $900M judgment

Nothing is going on at the Turkeyen site of the Specialty Hospital.

Months after suing Indian firm, Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited (SECL), for failing to deliver on the US$18M Specialty Hospital, a local court has ordered the company to pay over $900M.

But there is a problem. The company, at one time a highly favored one, cannot be located.

Court officials, since the claim for damages were filed in October by the Ministry of Legal Affairs, went to the Berbice registered office listed by Surendra to serve the writ. The Ministry even resorted to published notices of service in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper on two consecutive occasions- December 13 and 20 December, 2014, to no avail.

The matter was set to be heard last Wednesday in the Commercial Court. However, no defendant or representatives made an appearance.

The matter was again called yesterday with Surendra a no-show once more.

The court went ahead and granted judgment in favor of the Government of Guyana in terms of the special damages of US$4,285,440, which amounts to $899,942,440 and interest thereon; costs of US$10,714.50, which amounts to $2,250,043.

What makes the matter more interesting is that Surendra, in India, has filed for bankruptcy, according to records seen by Kaieteur News.

It will raise the very real question as to how Government will recover the monies.

It may very well have to look towards Surendra’s mining concessions in the hinterlands…almost 25,000 acres, according to reports.

According to the Ministry yesterday, in a statement on the judgment, on 14^th September, 2012, the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Health entered into a contract with SECL, a limited liability company incorporated in India and registered in Guyana.

Under the contract it was agreed that the company would provide services in relation to designing, building, equipping, testing, delivering, installing, completing and commission of certain facilities for the Surgical Specialty hospital in Turkeyen, Georgetown. The consideration or cost of the contract was US$18,180,000.

On 27^th December, 2012, Surendra Engineering was given an advanced payment of 20 percent of the contract price, which amounted to US$3,636,000. On 18^th November, 2013, an additional payment of US$649,440 was made.

Surendra eventually failed to submit payment receipts to account for the advanced payment of US$4,285,440.

“Instead, the company submitted fabricated, unsigned and inflated invoices with no evidence of actual payments made to support the expenditure claimed. In addition, the advance payment guarantee expired on 11^th March, 2014, and the company failed to renew same in accordance with the terms of the contract.”

After being informed of the expiration of the advance payment guarantee, the Ministry said that Surendra then attempted to submit one from a company in Trinidad and Tobago called ‘Worldwide Bankers Re Company Ltd’.

“However, pursuant to queries by the Government of Guyana, it was informed by the Central bank of Trinidad and Tobago that ‘Worldwide Bankers Re Company Ltd’ is not a registered insurance company under the Insurance Act of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Government moved then to terminate the contract on the grounds that Surendra failed to renew or provide the advance payment guarantee; engaged in fraudulent practices and failed to satisfactorily perform its obligations under the terms of the contract.
The Office of the Attorney General/Ministry of Legal Affairs, on 15^th October, 2014, filed a writ of summons in the High Court naming Surendra as the defendant.

Government was claiming damages in excess of $100M, special damages in the sum of US$4,285,440; interest at the rate of six percent per annum from the date of filing to the date of judgment and at the rate of 4 percent until fully paid and costs in the sum of US$10,714.50.

The case has been a hugely embarrassing one for the Ministry of Health and the Government which has been banking on the hospital as one of its flagship projects.

Government had refused to listen to urgings of the Opposition that Surendra was not capable of building the hospital which would have offered specialty treatments that patients, in normal circumstances, would have had to seek overseas.

Surendra itself is no stranger to controversy and has reportedly been blacklisted by the Guyana Sugar Corporation from its list of contractors.
Surendra had been the contractor on the US$12.5M Enmore sugar packaging factory.

The company has also been embroiled in the US$4M contract to supply 14 drainage pumps but has reportedly failed to fulfill its obligations. Government has not come clean on this project, but Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, last year admitted that Government was reviewing that pump contract.

The Surendra case would bear striking resemblance to that of Synergy Holdings, a company that Government awarded a US$15M contract to build roads to the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project in Region Eight, but was also sacked by Government for non-performance. Government had also been warned over the competence of that company but like Surendra, refused to heed advice.

Old news, we read the papers.

Hospitals and good things. They create work for some of the highest paying and trained professionals. The work of these folks will have positive spill overs to all sections of the society. Yet Freedom House found a way to fritter away another good idea.

Jagdeo was a Master of dealing with incompetent Companies. He really wasted a lot of the Guyanese people money!! What a SHAME!!!

It must not be forgotten that the Alliance for Change [AFC] strenuously opposed the building of that specialty hospital at Turkeyen by Surendra.

The PPP regime was in a state of denial then and lashed back nastily at the AFC and Khemraj Ramjattan particularly.

Now, here is another case of PPP misjudgement that will cost Guyanese taxpayers billions.

Which sensible voter is going to re-elect the PPP?

The problem in Guyana is voters don't vote on these issues. A Babu John speech or two will get the dwindling Indo vote bank to think with emotions.

I think the Article mentioned that the Guyana Govt won a Judgement.

Soviet trained economist.

What about the pumps Surendra was supposed to deliver?

Did the AFC oppose just to play tough or did they have a valid reason?  Don't know how difficult it is to do background checks on International Companies in Guyana. 

What about the pumps Surendra was supposed to deliver? What about Sam Hinds son who did not appear for about eight times?

That's correct. The government won a judgement but how, where and when can the government collect that money? Surendra mystic.

The Opposition parties missing the bus every time. They are correct in raising those issue, but that is only less than 1% in changing the minds of the electorate. All the corruption and exposing of it doan influence the lives of the ordinary man. Solutions to his day to day living will force him to think. Every Opposition meeting misses that point-the whole country knows the PPP is thiefing. The ppl muss be seying, "Suh what? Tell us something new."

inewsguyana.com, Aug 22, 2013 --- 'The company contracted by government to build the Specialty Hospital is in the business of dealing spare parts and has never constructed anything in the past. The company is Surendra Engineering.

This is according to Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, who at a press conference today condemned the fact that construction of the US$18M hospital will commence soon at the Turkeyen location.

During this year’s budget debate, a $1.25B provision for the hospital was cut by the parliamentary opposition. Recently, Attorney General Anil Nandlall revealed that the construction will soon commence and that a consultancy contract has been awarded to a local company.

According to Ramjattan, the AFC has learnt that the Government of India and the Indian Exim Bank are very concerned about Surendra being awarded the contract, when it has no history of hospital construction.

“The company building the hospital has never built anything close to a hospital. There is every suggestion that this unnamed construction consultancy is only to disguise the real likelihood that there will be a successful completion of the contract,” Ramjattan said.'

we need to stop this nonsense . . . wringing our hands about PPP "incompetence"

what happened here, and all over PPP 'economic planning,' is well-thought-out CORRUPTION!!

no money will be recovered; the rent seeking tiefmen in Freedom House have all been paid

"judgement," "writ," "liquidated damages," etc.,are just soothing words to pacify the bamboozled masses as the regime moves on to the next scam . . . their leprous paws reaching ever deeper into the pockets of hapless taxpayers

any of the cash advance money 'recovered' yet from Fip Motilall, Bovell, H.N. Pasha, etc., etc., for non-performance on the Amaila Falls road, eh?

way past time for calling a spade a spade

Shameful people who dare to show their faces in public muchless want to get re-elected. The people of Guyana muss be fools.

TK, I understand your point but we must have faith in our youths. The young voters will not buy PPP racist propaganda as easily as their parents and grandparents did.

Yuh right Gilly, The People will vote for continued PROGRESS and PROSPERITY.  To the moon baby!!!

Seems like this company did a Sugar Factory Expansion Project as well in Ethiopia. You can google it. 

I think it's time we leverage our local resources for these type of projects and have confidence in our people.

I share the same view the young ones don't see race

PPP will have a hard time pushing that mantra.

The people seem to know that PPP are thieves...still that don't sway them...once they feel that the Govt throwing them some nice crumbs...then all is well....

I think lots of them just relaxing waiting for the monthly income from overseas...or just waiting fuh de Visa (although that Visa mean they have to work when they get overseas)

Managed by a new government of the combined opposition.

why don't u post the link?

Why don't you do your own research?? Or you need to be told how to do so.

ai drunkie . . . when u make a 'claim' it is incumbent pan u to substantiate it since u done do de "research" rite?

dat's elementary

now, me being me, i already check dis ting out and i waiting wid de hammer

some people does call it a set up

har har har

Take ENG 101 dem does teach you how to do research then come back DUNCE!!!

arite arite simple bhai, u lil slow . . . is OK

Keep it civil, redux.

"har har har" is fine.

"drunkie" not catholic.

We have an election to win, redux. Stay on the high ground!!!

huh . . . ???

Like yuh straining fuh shit. Drink some Prune juice.

i rest my case

Link to the Ethiopian project:

http://hornaffairs.com/en/2014...opian-sugar-factory/

they are 1 of many subcontractors . . . what's your point?

The point is the inews article claimed that the company has NEVER constructed anything in the past:

'inewsguyana.com, Aug 22, 2013 --- 'The company contracted by government to build the Specialty Hospital is in the business of dealing spare parts and has never constructed anything in the past. The company is Surendra Engineering.'

u are employing a pitiful, off-point magnifying glass in your advocacy on behalf of Guyana's tiefman PPP government

i want u to note that the AFC's main issue was that Surendra knew nothing about, and was never involved in, the building of anything close to a specialty hospital

btw, what was the spare parts purveyor subcontracted to "build" at the sugar factory site in Ethiopia where its employees were killed . . . do you even know?

Alena

this was a Barter/Exchange

with Jagdeo.

Jagdeo got

2 Apan-Jaat Doctorate

In Exchange for

US$4 Million Cash

Nuff Land in Guyana

Can't help you if you can't read and understand the article on what the company was building in Ethiopia. 

Nothing to support your argument.  Pretty pics and colors btw.

i know that Overseas Infrastructure (Aliance) India PVT LTD was/is the Contractor on the expansion of the Ethiopian sugar factory

Surendra was/is a subcontractor on the project

my question [to you] stands