Govt. to spend even more $$ on US$3M Supenaam Stelling

Jul 08, 2014 News

The Guyana Government is gearing to spend millions more on the beleaguered Supenaam Stelling which has already attracted just about US$3M ($600M), a figure well above its original price tag. Rehabilitative works are also to be carried out on the Parika Stelling.
According to an advertisement that has been running in the Guyana Chronicle in

A section of the driveway of the Supenaam stelling where metal sheets were placed to cover large holes.

recent weeks, the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) which falls under the Ministry of Public Works, is inviting sealed bids from eligible contractors to undertake the rehabilitation projects.
This publication understands that the work is targeting the sections of the driveway of the Supenaam Stelling that had caved-in under the pressure of trucks traversing the facility, coupled with erosion. T&HD had placed metal sheets over the large holes to allow the safe passage of vehicles.
Bidders have up to next week Tuesday to submit their bids for evaluation and must lodge a non-refundable fee of $10,000 to uplift the bidding documents. There is no bid security required for the works to be undertaken on the Supenaam Stelling but a bid security of $600,000 will have to be in place for those interested in the works on the Parika Stelling.
Since the commissioning of the Supenaam Stelling it has been plagued by a number of incidents, including the dislodging of the loading ramp, a sunken pontoon as well as trucks toppling into the Essequibo River.
The Supenaam Stelling, because of its seemingly high costs, problems and importance, had sparked an inquiry involving the contractor, BK International – with neither the government nor the consultants prepared to accept blame.
BK International was adamant that the problems stemmed from a flawed design, but insisted that the structure had been built to the specifications it was provided with.
In September last year, workers had noticed erosion in a particular section of the concrete stelling and that quickly developed into a major problem when it collapsed under the weight of a rice-laden truck heading for the city. A gaping hole was left in the structure.
Engineers sought to repair the problem using steel sheets. As a result of the problem, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn had announced that a decision was taken to restrict the weight of vehicles from 22 tonnes to 16 tonnes.
Both of the new Chinese ferries, MV Sabanto and MV Kanawan, ply the Supenaam/Parika route.
The beleaguered Supenaam stelling has been a major embarrassment with several mishaps since it was commissioned. In May 2010, the stelling ramp buckled under the weight of a heavy vehicle, days after it was open to ferry traffic.
Ferries were forced to revert to the Adventure Stelling which government had hoped to abandon.
The administration, under pressure, ordered a report on the incident and tasked Prime Minister Samuel Hinds to oversee investigations. Two private engineers were hired to investigate the incident. Late in April 2010, an extra pontoon being installed by the Ministry sank while work was being done to attach it to the ramp.
While the project was originally budgeted for $431M, repairs and modifications were made pushing the figure closer to the $600M mark.