Leguan Stelling contractor warned to complete work in timely manner

Aug 30, 2020 News

S. Maraj Contracting Services has received a stern warning from Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill and Minister within the Ministry, Deodat Indar, to complete his work at the Leguan Stelling in a timely manner.

Assessments being conducted at the Leguan Stelling

This was after the ministers carried out a visit to Leguan on Friday to address matters at the island and assess the ongoing works at the stelling which has been dragging on.
Minister Edghill said that the project has seen poor administration.
This project was awarded to S. Maraj in 2018 for $412M. However, the estimated costs later changed to $580M.
The project was expected to be completed within six months. It was stated that the delay was a result of additional works needed along with the initial engineer’s estimate and quantities being deficient.
In January this year, the former Minister within the Ministry of Infrastructure, Jaipaul Sharma, had told Kaieteur News that the residents, mainly those within the business community and farmers, had been requesting extensions on the project to facilitate their goods and services and movements of their produce.
He related that it had put a strain on the contractors and contributed to the failure in meeting the project deadline.
He also lamented that the contractors cannot work with the ferry mooring at the stelling.
“It interferes with the work that is being done… and I constantly receive calls from residents requesting I allow the ferry to go to Leguan to move to produce”, Sharma had said.
Owner of the construction company Sattrohan Maraj had also stated that an arrangement was made with the Transport & Harbours Department to facilitate the mooring of the ferry during the routine morning and afternoon schedules to allow daily commute between Leguan and Parika but the midday trip often had to be cancelled to facilitate works on the stelling.
Despite the arrangement, the deployment of the M. B Sandaka vessel to Suriname to service the Suriname-Guyana route left one vessel operating between Bartica and Parika and Parika and Leguan.
According to Maraj, another hindrance had also occurred in December 2019, where a section of the stelling had collapsed. It was stated that they were obligated to divert from the upgrade project on the stelling to conduct emergency repairs.
In addressing the residents of Leguan, Minister Edghill also said, “The commitment that we will give to you is that wherever work is being undertaken, the unpriced bill of quantity must be placed public in the community so that people could be able to examine and check to make sure what needs to be done is being done.”
Edghill also contended that upon the conclusion of the project, the elderly must also be taken into consideration and the necessary facilities to cater for them should be established.
It was also highlighted that safety signs need to be installed in order to prevent injuries to passengers who still utilize the stelling.
Some $250M was allocated for the upgrading of Leguan and Bartica Stellings in the 2018 budget.
Another $160M was also allocated to assist in reconstructing the Vreed-en-Hoop and Stabroek Stellings, into modern water taxi terminals.