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Specialty Hospital to be completed within 30 months if PPP is re-elected – Ramsammy

Apr 05, 2015 News

– Vows to approach project “differently”
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is saying that it will ensure the completion of the controversial Specialty Hospital project once it is re-elected.
In fact, the incumbent party is planning to do all it takes to ensure the project is completed within 30 months after it is re-elected. This is according to former Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who admitted that a few things need to be done “differently.”
The project, which was rejected by the opposition because the contract landed in what was described as the “wrong hands”, was placed on hold ever since. The fallout between Government and Surendra Engineering was said to be the cause. Surendra Engineering is the company that was awarded the contract to build the hospital.
Fedders Lloyd Corporation Ltd of India was the lowest bidder for the contract but it was passed over in favour of Surendra Engineering.
Cabinet had “no objection” to the award of the contract to the value of $18.1 million even though Fedders Lloyd had put in a bid of US$23.2 million with a 23 per cent discount. That put its final bid cost at US$17.6 million.
The hospital is being funded with a US$18 million line of credit from India.
During a recent interview, Dr. Ramsammy told Kaieteur News that when government goes about resuming the project, it will put out an open tender.
Even as he committed to a 30-month finish, Dr. Ramsammy said that the government knows it now has to go back and examine the way it approached the project and determine what is needed to be done differently.
“We will examine what we did, yes, there were some things that could have been done differently and so we are going to do them differently,” Dr. Ramsammy added.
Last January, judgment was granted in favour of the government in its case against Surendra Engineering.
On September 14, 2012, the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Health entered into a contract with Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited. On December 27, 2012, Surendra Engineering was given an Advance Payment of 20 percent of the contract price, which amounted to US$3.6M and on  November 18, 2013, an additional payment of US$649,440.
But the company eventually failed to submit payment receipts to account for the advanced payment which amounted to just over US$4.2M
Government claimed that 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 March 11, 2014, and the company failed to renew it in accordance with the terms of the contract.
Consequently, Government terminated the contract on the grounds that Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited failed to renew/provide the Advance Payment Guarantee; engaged in fraudulent practices; and failed to satisfactorily perform its obligations under the terms of the contract.
Government then filed a Writ of Summons in the Commercial Division of the High Court naming Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited as the Defendant and claiming Damages in excess of G$100M; Special damages for over US$4.2M; Interest at the rate of six percent per annum from the date of filing to the date of judgment and at the rate of four percent until fully paid; Costs in the sum of US$10,714.50.
After no representative from Surendra appeared at any of the scheduled court hearings, Government was awarded judgment in its favour.
The announcement for construction was made in February 2011 by former President Bharrat Jagdeo when he returned from India after securing a US$18M line of credit.

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