State of the Industry…Public Infrastructure Ministers spotlight major projects

Sep 25, 2016 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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Ministers David Patterson and Annette Ferguson met with the media recently to provide for the general public updates on the progress of major developmental projects nationwide. In two segments, we will encapsulate these progress reports.

Human Capacity Building
This is one not insignificant retardant to the progress of projects, large and small, especially in the hinterland regions. The Ministry requires many more competent and qualified skills to design and oversee such projects as the Airstrip rehabilitation programme, and construction of bridges and community roads.
The reality is that graduates from UG’s Technology Faculty (esp. architects, civil, mechanical and electrical engineers) are not attracted to the public service because of the current remuneration packages. Earlier this year we lost Walter Willis to the ‘Grim Reaper’. He was one of our most consistent Civil Engineers and project overseers and there remain many more places to fill.
By the end of 2016, the Ministry will very likely get approval for its plan to address this issue. Our promise was to create job opportunities and that we will do.

Cheddi Jagan Airport Expansion
Already all of the 2016 budgetary allocation for this project has been expended but the project has not ground to a halt. At the end of August 2016, $3.88B had already been spent and the completion date, December 2017, remains in place. This project is not just about buildings, fittings and runways. Airport security and a revamp of the entire operations are also on the cards.
The Ministerial team has met with representatives from China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), the company that was contracted some years ago to execute the expansion and rehabilitation project. It involves a new 10,800 ft. runway and the expansion and renovation of the existing terminal.
The PPP plan before the Coalition’s revision included the construction and relocation of a brand new airport building, relocation of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, the Timehri police station and car park. The cost overruns would have been inordinately high.
The base contract with CHEC was for US$150 million. The items mentioned above would have over run this cost by more than US$65M, so Minister Patterson had a meeting with CHEC to iron out several thorny issues which were not disclosed to the Coalition pre-election.

Will the Private Sector become part of the solution?
The Ministers also met with leaders/members of the business support organizations led by the Private Sector Commission’s Infrastructure sub-committee. The parties discussed several issues including rehabilitation and modernization of the Georgetown Harbour; the progress of plans to build a new corridor between Georgetown and the international airport; rehabilitation of the existing Demerara Harbour Bridge and the construction of a new one; opportunities for rapid development of the business sector on the impending oil and gas (hydrocarbon) industry; and lucrative alternative sources of energy.
From the private business end, for many years business has been affected by high capital rents, infrastructural constraints, poor labour quality, high cost of productivity, inefficient transportation and communication facilities, poor domestic demand for their manufactured products and some services, an inability and insufficiency to penetrate foreign markets, non-tariff barriers at foreign ports even in the Caribbean and Latin America, and more.
Minister Patterson has given a commitment to the PSC that he would meet with their representatives for discussions and updates at least on a quarterly basis to foster a more productive relationship, and to quicken the pace at which commerce, manufacturing and services industries adapt and grow.

Returning Normalcy to power supplied by GPL
The Minister has also given the assurance that the damage to GPL’s submarine cable would be repaired and the cable reconnected to the Demerara/Berbice Interconnected System by mid-November 2016. In addition, everything humanly possible is being done to restore a 24-hour power supply to the new town of Bartica. GPL is currently facing a true test of its capabilities to provide uninterrupted electricity to its customers, and its capacity to rebound from unforeseen problems.
The US$5M submarine cable was laid by the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) 3 meters deep in the Demerara riverbed silt in the vicinity of the Navigational Channel. A few weeks ago the cable was dislodged, dragged and damaged, and a it became inoperable. Power supply to sections of Regions 3, 4, and 5 has been affected, severely in some places.
In addition, the power supplied to Bartica was also severely diminished after two of the town’s three power generators went down. One engine was/is undergoing a major overhaul and it was expected back in operation last weekend. One interim measure to assuage the Barticians’ discomfort was the early relocation of a generating set from Onverwagt, West Berbice. Minister Patterson assured that he will leave no stone unturned to relieve the residents’ discomfort.
In the meantime, GPL is seeking the best resources to repair or replace the damaged sections of the submarine cable and reset it in the river bed. Initially the cable had been buried three meters deep inside hardened silt in the Demerara River between the Kingston Power Station and the West Bank. However, discussions are underway for the expert (most likely foreign) company that is commissioned to conduct the repairs, to re-bury the cable at least nine meters deep by mid-November. MoPI has also raised with GPL the possibility of acquiring a second cable to link the East and West Demerara grids.

Modernizing Port Georgetown
This has brought to the fore the previously hotly debated, thorny issue of modernizing Guyana’s main Port, and dredging the Demerara Navigational Channel to literally dig out at least three meters of hardened ‘clayey’ silt from the river bed, then remove the several meters more of sling mud beneath which contributes to the growing height of the riverbed. In short, the higher the silt rises, the more difficult it will become for heavy vessels to enter Port Georgetown. Already the business community is forced to pay higher tariffs and charges for smaller quantities of imports or exports that have to be ferried on small feeder vessels. The large cargo ships get stuck in the navigational channel, even at high tide.
The previous PPP government had demanded that the private business owners operating in Port Georgetown find the financing to upgrade security, bouys, emergency and other port facilities, as well as dredge the 20 years worth of silt sitting on the Demerara riverbed. This issue is multi-dimensional and will be examined further in next Sunday’s offering.

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