Govt. contracts… Measures mulled to sanction consultants, engineers

Jun 17, 2010 News

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– performance bonds not ruled out

Government is examining the possibility of introducing mechanisms that will make project consultants more liable for foul-ups in contracts, which end up costing the country millions of dollars to rectify.
This was disclosed yesterday by Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, even as Government examines an engineer’s report of the problems at the multi-million-dollar Supenaam wharf which encountered structural problems days after it was opened to traffic.
The official, speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet briefings, alluded to glaring errors in contracts, which do not force design consultants to post any bonds or securities in case of problems.
This development may now put Government on the back foot as B.K. International, the contractor of the Supenaam stelling, which government says cost taxpayers around $450M, is claiming that it built the facility according to design specifications.
According to Luncheon, the level of accountability at the contractor’s stage is quite “formidable” with requirements for performance and other bonds a must. Failure by contractors to perform can result in government seizing the bonds.
It is alarming that the design consultants do not have to post similar bonds but all this will have to change, the official said.
Hopefully, one of the measures to come out of the recommendations from the report of the stelling, would be the implementation of mechanisms that would prevent a recurrence, he said.
Responding to questions about who may have to pay to fix the problems of the stelling, the Cabinet Secretary noted that players involved would do the ethical and moral thing.
Dr Luncheon also slammed the current “sloth” of the judicial process, which allows contractors and others to turn there whenever government moves to recover damages from incomplete or poor quality work.
In one case, contracts were awarded to strengthen the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) following the 2005 floods to the coast. B.K. International was awarded this contract and after government expressed dissatisfaction; moves were made to recover $60M. However, the company went to court and the matter is still there.
Dr. Luncheon yesterday admitted that this is one of the problem areas that is a sore point for the administration.
Regarding the fixing of Supenaam stelling, the official stressed that the area at Supenaam is key to the development of Essequibo and as such moves may have to be made by Government to ensure that the facility is speedily brought into operation.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sam Hinds disclosed that an engineer’s report on the Supenaam stelling problems would most likely be made public in six weeks.
All the parties that had anything to do with the stelling have been given copies of the report and are to meet with him to review it.
“Two engineers have submitted a report… I have reviewed it. We have reviewed it at cabinet. I have, to date, invited the relevant groups – the designer, the supervisor, the contractor – to submit to them copies, and invited them to meet with me and review the matter.”
Almost four weeks ago, President Bharrat Jagdeo ordered a formal review into the almost $431M facility after a ramp collapsed while a ferry was being loaded.
Two private engineers were retained to conduct the investigations and prepare a report.
Almost four days after it was opened to traffic, the stelling was forced to close operations after its ramp buckled under the weight of a truck boarding a ferry.
The contractor, BK International, distancing itself from the incident, took media houses on an inspection shortly after and said that modification works on the ramp by the Ministry of Public Works had caused the problems.
Late in April, an extra pontoon installed by the Ministry sank while work was being done to attach it to the ramp.
BK International, during the tour, had claimed that the modifications including the extra pontoon and the drawbridge were not needed since tests had found that the one pontoon could have taken the weight.
The officials believed that the current modification works have resulted in the structural integrity of the stelling being compromised.
During a press conference, Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn had stressed that his Ministry only took over the facility in January, and in a pressure situation, immediately started works to rectify a number of key problems inherited from the construction phase to ensure that facility was brought to use.
The Ministry expended an additional $18M to add a new pontoon and a drawbridge to allow vehicles to load and offload from the ferries. This was expenditure in addition to the $431M.
Benn stressed that when his Ministry took over the facilities in January, it was immediately recognised that two problems had to be fixed.
This included the issue of the bridge leading to the ferries and the question of flotation, since the one pontoon stabilising it could not have worked. And there was the question of fixing the large gap between the ferries’ loading area and the ramp.

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