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This sluice at Hope Canal may very well end up a white elephant

Dec 17, 2012 Letters

Dear Editor,
I refer to the Consultants’ letter dated 9/12/12 in KN on the above subject and to respond as follows:
After our visit to the Hope Canal Site inspecting the eight-door sluice and the bridge we met Mr. Latchmansingh at a meeting at UG and we expressed our concerns about the door sluice timber piling and he stated that it was not his problem and that the responsibility lies with the structural consultant SRK Engineering who are designing and supervising construction of all the structures.
We had no alternative but to revert to the press to express our dissatisfaction with the driving mechanism of the timber piles and other concerns about the project generally. We are surprised that he has joined with SRK expressing dissatisfaction with us for going to the press.
My calculation indicates the weight of the earth excavated between centers of the pile group is far heavier than the weight of the concrete slab and weight of water being added and hence there is no requirement to drive any piles to support the structure whatsoever.
Driving 520 piles 120ft. long will also displace some 8500 cu.yd of clay material upward, which will involve removal by the contractor to achieve the correct invert level of the sluice. There is no item in the bill for removal of this earth and this will be a genuine extra for the contractor.
I would like to refer the Consultants to earlier letters in the press written by Engineers Ceres and Budhram on the subject of using timber piles for supporting structures in Guyana.
The Consultants claim that foreign experts and GAPE have approved the design of the sluice and I would like to know if these experts approved the design of 520 piles 120ft. long to support this structure.
Considerable savings to the Govt. could have been achieved by deleting these timber piles from the contract. SRK comments that the soil parameters for the 7- door Abary Control Sluice were better than that for the 8-Door Hope Sluice are incorrect. Both soil conditions are about the same. No piling, however, was used to support the foundation for the Abary 7 Door Sluice.
Mr. Alli was asked by Minister Persaud years ago to be an adviser to the D&I Board but refused the offer. I do not see what this has to do with the Hope Project.
Mr. Alli’s comments also about the 3- Door inlet sluice were made when its location was closer to the conservancy dam. The sluice has now been re-located further north.
It was also noted that the consultants did not comment on our concerns for the outfall channel for the 8 door sluice, which we feel would be very expensive to clear on a regular basis and the sluice may very well end up a white elephant like the Lesbeholden Sluice designed by Halcrows in the 50’s that has never worked due to continuous siltation of the outfall. You could have a similar situation here.
Malcolm Alli

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