Additional $520M to complete Good Hope Secondary where $840M was already spent

Dec 10, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana will spend some $520M more to complete the Good Hope Secondary School, East Coast Demerara (ECD) scheduled for completion by June 2023.

The Ministry of Education on Friday inked a US$2,607,879 engineering, procurement and construction/turnkey new contract for the completion of the Good Hope Secondary School.

The contract was signed between the Ministry of Education and DEEN+ Partners at the Ministry’s Brickdam, Georgetown office and falls under the Secondary Education Improvement Project and is being funded by the World Bank.

An aerial view of the Good Hope Secondary School. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education)

The original contract to construct the Good Hope Secondary School was awarded in 2018 to B.K. International for US$4,082,506 ($840M). Work commenced on October 15, 2018, with the original completion date being January 14, 2020.

However, the firm was unable to deliver despite benefiting from four extensions given on March 10, 2020, May 18, 2020, June 15, 2020, and August 17, 2020 respectively. B.K. International’s contract was terminated on May 25, 2021.

“Why is Good Hope Secondary important? Good Hope Secondary is the school that we intended on the East Coast of Demerara to help us achieve universal secondary education, by that we mean two things; one is for the children who have no place right now to get into a school and two, that we can close the primary tops on the East Coast of Demerara,” said Minister of Education Priya Manickchand.

Upon completion, some 479 students will be placed at the school. This, the Minister said, will allow her Ministry to close the Paradise, Enterprise and the Enmore Primary Top schools. Further, the Minister said the Good Hope Secondary will also help in reducing overcrowding at the Cummings Lodge, Bladen Hall, Golden Grove and the Plaisance Secondary Schools.

Currently, Good Hope Secondary has 92 students who are currently being taught at other secondary schools to facilitate the school’s rehabilitation.

Following the termination of BK International’s contract, several options were explored as it relates to procurement alternatives to ensure the school is completed. It was decided that a management/EPC Turnkey contract with a suitable consultant was the best route to take.

The project was offered as a direct contract to Deen+Partners who were the supervisory consultants for the project and were familiar with what was required to complete the school.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand (right) alongside Chief Education Officer (CEO), Saddam Hussain, overlooking the signing of the contract between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Alfred King (right) and the contractor DEEN+ Partners.

DEEN+ Partners is expected to complete all outstanding works which include the installation of all electrical panels and cables to complete electrical connections, installation and connection of all plumbing fittings and fixtures, completion of the fence, pavements, walkways and landscaping, general finishes to windows, doors, roof, walls and ceilings, completion of all built-in furniture, repainting of the entire facility and remedial works to all floors.

“I hope Mr. Deen is hearing me because if we sign this contract that this is going to be finish in June it will finish in June, we can’t do this to the children of the East Coast any longer, it is a sin, what happen here is really sinful,” Minister Manickchand said at the contract signing.

“I demand by people for quality work and timely work because people want to be able to participate in this new Guyana we are building out and we can only do that if every service provider, contractors and so on live up to the contract you signed so we are insisting here at the ministry that people live up to those contract obligation or face the penalties that are in the contract,” she added.

Upon completion, the school will be able to accommodate approximately 1000 students, would have 25 classrooms, along with three Information Technology laboratories, a large library, a multi-purpose hall, canteen, fully equipped Home Economics and TVET building, dance studio among other departments.