Latest update March 26th, 2026 7:55 AM
GWI institutes legal proceedings against contractor for failing to change aged transmission lines
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Water Incorporated Inc. (GWI) has instituted legal proceedings against LGS Barns General Building Construction and Civil Engineering for failing to execute a multi-million dollars contract for replacing aged transmission lines in the Bel Air Park area.
Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal.
According to the Department of Public Information, this was revealed by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, during the commissioning of Republic Street, Bel Air on Friday. Minister Croal said that the company was contracted in November 2017 to replace 2,000 metres of GWI’s transmission lines in Bel Air Park at a cost of $108 million. The sum of the four-month contract was subsequently revised to $123 million.
However, three years later in 2020, the company failed to complete the work but was paid handsomely in eight tranches. Minister Croal confirmed that the contractor received $114,128,727, which represents 93 percent of the total contract sum.
However, the company only laid 225 metres of new transmission lines, completing a mere 11.25 percent of the work by June 2020. The value of the 11.25 per cent of works is pegged at $39,406,000. Some $87,921,215 has been overpaid to the company by the GWI. As such, GWI is seeking to reclaim the cash.
“So, GWI has therefore instituted legal proceedings to recover the overpayment of the $87 million and for the contractor to also hand over the additional materials that were procured. That is now engaging the court,” Minister Croal explained, adding that the government has to take action now to recover the monies paid for incomplete works.
Kaieteur News understands that to begin the replacement of the transmission lines, LGS Barns had to excavate parts of Republic Street. In December 2020, GWI handed out a $91 million contract for the transmission lines to be replaced. The eight-month contract that ended in August saw only 710 metres of 22 inches HDP transmission lines being earthed.
Even so, after entering office, the PPP/C Government did not wait to recover the monies from the company. However as persons were suffering from the deplorable road, the water company also took part in beginning the process of repairing the street.
“Another contract had to be awarded and that was done to the sum of $28,628,000 for the road works to bring it up to a level…” the Minister added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Works, through the special Works Group, completed Republic Street and repaired several other streets in the area at a cost of $19.5 million, 30 percent cheaper than the cost of hiring a private contractor.
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, noted that despite there was gross mismanagement, negligence and corruption in the initial contract to replace the GWI transmission lines, his government must bring relief to suffering Guyanese.
“In every NDC, in every township, in every region, we are improving the lives of people, we are improving the roads,” he said.
During the engagement, the Minister also urged businessmen with heavy-duty machinery to desist from driving on neighbourhood roads.
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