Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
Pile shortage pushes back roll on/roll off ferry use
“…end of July or early August” – Benn
By Gary Eleazar
The two US$14M Roll on/Roll off ferries are yet to be used more than six months after their arrival in Guyana, and according to Public Works Minister Robeson Benn, commuters plying the Parika/Supenaam route will have to wait until next month end or early August before these vessels can be used.
The Kanawan (in photo) and Sabanto will not be in use for several more weeks
The ferries, Sabanto and Kanawan, have Amerindian names. Kanawan means ‘big canoe’ and Sabanto means ‘beautiful one’.
The Public Works Minister was at the time responding to his shadow colleague in the House, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Joseph Harmon, who sought clarification on why the ferries have not yet been put to use.
Benn told the House that the Ministry has been working feverishly to ensure that the roll on/roll off facilities (the trouble-prone stellings for which more than half a billion dollars have already been spent) are completed.
Benn blamed the delay in launching the roll on/roll off ferry service on design changes and a difficulty in sourcing certain supplies required for the project.
He drew specific reference to the need for 75 ft. greenheart piles as a result of modifications to the design and said that the commodity has been difficult to source.
The Minister did seek to assure the House that by the end of July the service should be fully operational, but left room for error, and said that the outside date for the launch of the service would likely be the first week in August.
Benn had, at the end of May, while speaking to this publication, also blamed the poor management of time by the contractor, B.K. International, as a major cause for delays.
“We had anticipated that the ferries would have been able to go over to Essequibo to start training routes and thereafter we would have had an earlier date of the ferries between Parika and Supenaam,” Benn admitted.
The two ferries arrived in December, but modification works to the two stellings remained incomplete despite several deadlines being given, starting from February.
One of the major problems had to do with the concrete piles being driven. Some broke and had to be replaced and driven again.
“We have had to replace and drive new piles, but primarily, we have not been able to get our contractors to extend hours to bring it to completion. Parika (stelling) is fundamentally finished. But there are a couple of (mooring) bollards to be put in place.”
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