US$15M Hope Canal…Independent engineers call for urgent review

Dec 05, 2012 News

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‘Substandard work, poor monitoring, delays will compromise project’

Two independent engineers, who recently visited the ongoing US$15M Hope Canal project which is geared to help reduce long term flooding on the East Coast of Demerara, are calling on government to launch an urgent review in face of faulty works and delays.
Both Malcolm Alli and Charles Sohan in a letter published today in Kaieteur News, spoke of piles being driven in an unacceptable manner and other factors which could threaten the project.

Over the weekend, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, reportedly expressed concerns that critical aspects of the Hope Canal project may not be completed by the June 2013 deadline.
But he expressed optimism that the contractors could meet that target if they increase the pace with which works are being expedited.
According to the Minister, its arm – the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) –is utilizing its own machinery, and has carried the construction of the actual canal almost to the conservancy.
In October 2010, government had launched the canal project after major flooding threatened the coastlands. The flooding had threatened a catastrophic collapse of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) which holds millions of gallons of water in the southern Demerara area.
The new canal would provide another critical way to release waters from the EDWC to the Atlantic Ocean.
In the past, to protect especially the Demerara coastline, government had been forced to release waters through the Mahaica River, flooding several farms and leaving hundreds of homes under water with millions of dollars in crop losses.
The 10.3km canal will run from the EDWC via a three-door sluice at that end, along an excavated channel and be discharged into the Atlantic via an eight-door sluice. The canal also cuts one major roadway where the engineers have proposed a span resembling the truss bridges that currently cross the Mahaica and Abary Rivers.
According to the two engineers, their recent visit and observations with respect to project activities, quality control and the contractors’ abilities to organize and execute the work to complete their contracts on time was not very encouraging.
15% complete
“Work done on the Weir discharge structure (Atlantic Ocean sluice) across the sea defence indicates that only about 15% of contract work has been completed to date, and based on the contractor’s performance thus far it is unlikely that the structure will be completed and become functional before 2014.”
Since the launching in October 2010, government had tapped the project duration as two years, which expired last October. This has been moved to around mid-2013.
“Excuses given such as the late delivery of materials, equipment failure and transportation difficulties all within his ambit are not severe contingencies to relieve the contractor of his contractual obligations to complete the Weir within the specified time-frame,” the two engineers said in their letter.
The engineers, who have been writing in the press on a number of large projects run by government, also expressed alarm over the piles being driven for the outfall sluice.
“The timber piles driven show that many of them are out of plumb, drifting by as much as three feet.”
They went further… “The driven out-of-plumb timber piles may have been broken at the splices and therefore their bearing capacity compromised. The engineer responsible for observing materials and completed work to evaluate their compliance with the plans, specifications and design should have recognized these problems and instructed the contractor to take remedial measures to correct the sub-standard work.”
According to the engineers, the slippages (delays in construction progress) should have been reported to NDIA (the owner) at an earlier stage and a plan proposed by the contractor, agreed to and monitored to get the project back on track.
Substandard work
They were critical of the government’s engineers.
“The Minister of Agriculture/NDIA engineers during their recent visit to the site must have seen that the piles were being driven out of alignment, but apparently they took no action to remedy the situation, continuing to allow things to slide while the contractor goes about his daily routine executing substandard work.”

Alli and Sohan especially noted the design and supervision of construction of the outfall sluice which has raised many troubling questions. Design of the foundation requires some 520 timber piles 120 ft long.
“The design should have been reviewed by an independent consultant to check whether the structure was not over-designed, particularly the requirement for what appears to be an excessive number of piles to support the structure. Prior to construction, test piles should have been driven and loaded to determine the length and number of piles required to adequately support the structure.”
The two engineers argued that experience of previously designed and built structures under similar soil conditions such as the seven-door Weir across the Abary River shows that timber piles were not necessary to support the structure since the soil at that elevation could safely support the imposed loads.
Regarding the actual canal, the engineers disputed reports that it was 83% complete and said that it was more like 50%.
Canal only 30%
“About 30% of the canal remains to be dug and re-dug to final bed grade. Some 80% of its embankments have to be raised to design elevation, compacted, trimmed, shaped and strengthened with geo-textile fabric. In some sections, selected borrow fill may have to be used to replace unsuitable material.”
The engineers, in the letter to the editor, noted that during their visit, a part of the eastern embankment was on fire, burning uncontrollably, and will probably compromise the geo-textile fabric if installed. Geo-textile is a mesh used to strengthen the embankment for the new canal.
A major problem developing in the unfinished canal, the two found, is weeds which have taken over about 40% of the canal’s waterway. They believe that within six months if no action is taken the entire waterway will be covered with weeds, if left unchecked.
“Their presence will severely restrict flow and negate the objective of discharging floodwater efficiently from the conservancy. Cost for their removal and continual maintenance will be an expensive exercise which NDIA is still to estimate and budget for.”
The bushes growing profusely on the embankments will also have to be controlled by regular maintenance.
Work on the Head Regulator, which will control the flow of water from the EDWC to the new canal, is only about 20% completed and piling is expected to be finished early in the new year. “It is unlikely that this structure will be completed and be functional before the end of 2013.”
Where the canal meets the East Coast Demerara road and where a bridge is being built, the work there appears to be progressing slowly with an “untidy work site, improper storage of material/equipment and signs of a disorganized work plan”.
The two engineers insisted that the Agriculture Minister has been grossly misled that come June 2013, the Hope Canal Project will be completed and become functional.
“To confirm our observations and to allay the public’s apprehension, he should initiate an independent mid-term review of the Hope Canal Project to assess progress with respect to the implementation of project activities focusing on the project implementation plan, its progress in achieving project outcomes, expenditures and the disbursement schedule.”
The review, Alli and Sohan were convinced, will show how skewed the NDIA/consulting engineers were regarding the timely completion of project works and their indifference to costs and the auxiliary works required to make the system functional.
Yesterday, a copy of the letter was sent to the Ministry of Agriculture to address the points raised. A staffer promised to have the minister address the pertinent issues.

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