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Correcting wrongs of PPP turning out to be very expensive – President Granger -cites $780M Kato School, $350M Hope Canal Bridge
The $780M Kato Secondary school
By Jarryl Bryan
The debacle at Kato Secondary School is one in a series of projects which were undertaken by the previous administration that will have to be corrected by the new one. And according to President David Granger, it is turning out to be a very expensive affair.
He related this during the latest edition of the ‘Public Interest’, after being asked about the school. The Region eight school, for which construction started in 2013, cannot be opened to this day because of numerous defects. And over $140M has been quoted by company which reviewed the structure, as the potential cost for repairs.
“It shows you the challenges that the present administration is facing,” Granger said. “This administration has been faced with the challenge of correcting a lot of bad work, tolerated by the previous administration. Look at the bridge at Hope. It’s very expensive to correct the wrongdoing of the previous administration.”
“There was a big rush to finish the (Kato School) project, prior to May 2015, at any cost, in order to demonstrate that the previous administration was doing so well,” he continued. “It’s quite clear that the work was substandard. It is unsafe to put children in that building. So the government is now faced with the responsibility to do massive work to rectify the faults to make the place safe for use by children.”
According to Granger, it’s a burden that Government will have to bear. However, he promised that whatever legal measures can be put in place to recover the excess expenditure from the contractor, Kares Engineering Ltd, will be taken.
“But he certainly is not going to be given any more contracts to do that type of work,” he said. “People feel that once you’re dealing with the hinterland, you can do any kind of shoddy work. And nobody will go there to check. Things are different now. You’ve had bad roads, you’ve had bad buildings, and you’ve had bad stellings.”
“But in terms of the school, we are concerned about education. We want to see the children in school. And we will do whatever is necessary to rectify the faults in that building, which are massive…and make sure that children can enjoy safe classrooms and security of dormitories.”
He noted the importance of children from Kato and surrounding communities, having access to the same standard of education as what children on the coastland would obtain.
The $350M East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) Northern Relief Channel Public Road Bridge at Hope, East Coast Demerara had developed defects just two years after being commissioned.
Reports had indicated that both approaches (east and west) had begun to sink causing a “depression” which results in a sudden rise and ending in an abrupt drop. Road users had expressed their concerns, complaining about the potential harm it could cause.
In May, National Task Force Secretariat Head, Dr. Sewnauth Punalall had stated that corrective works would commence soon.
The bridge is 74.4 metres long and a 47-metre sloped approach on both sides; it has the capacity to accommodate two-lane traffic, with sidewalks on both sides.
The bridge was constructed by DIPCON Engineering Company and commenced in 2011. Due to several setbacks, the completion date was rescheduled from July 2013 to end of August of that same year.
However, as a consequence of several “setbacks” the completion date was subsequently slated for December 31. The bridge was completed during the first quarter of 2014.
The Bridge is one of the three components of the US$15M Hope Canal Project.
Kato School, on the other hand, has not been able to open because of several structural defects. A tour facilitated by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, which is working along with the contractor, had revealed problems including cracks throughout the building and unbalanced stairs.
Representatives from Rodrigues Architects Ltd, the firm that did a technical audit of the building, had subsequently stated that repairs could cost in excess of $140M.
While the company, Kares Engineering, has stated that the defects liability period has expired, supervising consultant Design and Construction Services Limited (DCSL) never even issued a certificate of completion.
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