EBD Public Road four-lane expansion…Who is really responsible for installing the concrete drains?

Apr 18, 2014 News

Cabinet recently gave its no-objection to the award of contracts for the construction of reinforced concrete drains from Prospect to Diamond, even though contractors executing works in the said stretch are responsible for already installing concrete drains.
Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon, during yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing, stated that the reinforced concrete drains will be installed as supporting infrastructure for the four-lane highway.

Concrete drains (at left of photo) installed on the western carriageway in Lot Two.

According to a source, contractors Gaico Construction and BK International are responsible for Lots Two and Three, respectively. And their contracts provide for the construction of drains.
The source noted that the contractors are installing concrete drains and the evidence is there. It was pointed out that road works have been held up at the ‘high bridge’ area near Demerara Distillers Limited, because the drains are yet to be installed.
“If the drain is not constructed before the road, sand and other building materials would wash away,” the source said.
According to Dr. Luncheon, “the reinforced concrete drains will be installed in Lots Two and Three, from Prospect to Diamond ‘high bridge’, and from Diamond ‘high bridge’ to Diamond Housing Scheme entrance respectively”. The contract to install the drains in Lot Two is expected to cost almost US$700,000 and the Lot Three contract is valued at approximately US$400,000.
According to Dr. Luncheon, the contracts awarded to GAICO Construction and BK International did not cater for the installation of the concrete drains. He said the contractors are not obligated to install the drains once they are not provided for in the contracts. He stressed that the drains are independent of the actual construction of the four-lane expansion but represent a support infrastructure that carries a separate cost. When questioned, he conceded that the construction of the drains could be and should be part of the construction of the road.
He however emphasized, “This is not an uncommon practice to have certain maturation in the execution of the project dealing with the road itself and then you bring in the drain to support drainage requirements.”
In April 2013, the Ministry of Public Works had confirmed that the cost for the road-widening project had increased due to design modifications. Apparently, the original design provided that the Providence to Diamond road be constructed with earthen drains, but the engineers later decided that concrete drains would be a better option, though there will still be earthen drains in certain sections.
According to an engineer, other modifications were also included in the contracts. And, these have been finalized in Lots Two and Three. Lot Two was awarded to Gaico Construction to the tune of US$5,802,640. However, with the adjustments to the design, the contract may cost an additional US$800,000. Meanwhile, BK International’s original contract sum was US$3,444,060. The modifications in this section are costing Government approximately US$800,000, the engineer said.