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‘Project delays are part of the challenges in a growing country’ – VP Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that due to the rapid pace of Guyana’s development, delays in projects are anticipated. The VP was at the time responding to criticisms about project delays at his weekly press conference.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
Reference was made about the delay in completion of the $475 million Cemetery Road expansion and the $1.8B Conversation Tree Project.
The Vice President said, “So it’s true these projects are delayed…and they blame the government for the delay. It’s true that projects can be delay but for what reasons, sometimes they are real reasons such as shortage of material, difficulty in working in environments you have to work along with traffic flow…”
He emphasised, “The fact of the matter is, and we don’t like delays but we don’t set out to have a project delay, it’s part of what you have to deal with in life; in daily life, in a country of our nature, especially a country that is growing so fast as our country is.”
Jagdeo pointed out that the criticism surrounding the delays in the Cemetery Road and Conversation Tree expansion projects often overlook the substantial benefits these projects will bring, particularly in terms of enhancing accessibility in those areas.
“They’re concerned about, oh it’s delayed for five months or four months and therefore the government is to be blamed…” Jagdeo said.
This publication recently reported that only 35% of the anticipated work has been completed on the Cemetery Road project, a stark contrast to the initial deadline set for July 2023.
Awarded to Avinash Construction and Metal Works Company at a cost of $475 million, the project aimed to expand the road to accommodate four lanes, construct concrete drains, a walkway, and perform resurfacing and reconstruction of culverts. However, the contractor has struggled to make substantial progress. The Ministry of Public Works has set a new deadline of January 31, 2024.
Road Works at Cemetery Road, Georgetown
The $1.8B Conversation Tree Project is divided into sections, saw Lot One of being awarded to Guyanese company, S. Jagmohan Construction and General Supplies Inc. to the tune of $1,066,358,738, and Lot Two was awarded to a Trinidadian company, Kallco Guyana Inc. to the tune of $830,293,458.
The projects’ completion dates were set to September 5, 2022, and November 5, 2023, respectively. Both contractors have received revised deadlines.
Road works at Conversation Tree
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, had expressed dissatisfaction with the considerable delays in Phase Two of the Conversation Tree Road Project, and said that Phase One is progressing at a satisfactory pace.
While S. Jagmohan is expected to complete the works this year, Minister Edghill said that Kallco could face possible termination of contract if it fails to meet the new deadline.
Moreover, Jagdeo also addressed criticisms about the delay of the $11.8 billion Schoonord to Crane bypass road being constructed on the West Bank of Demerara. This project was expected to meet its December 26, 2023 deadline.
Works ongoing on the Schoonord to Crane road
The Vice President said, “It might be delayed a few months, but it is happening. You can go on the road and you can see it being built today and they should be proud that is being built by local contractors…”
Notably, the contract was awarded to several contractors in September 2022, for the construction of a four-lane highway from Schoonord to Crane. The contractors are VR Construction Inc., Avinash Contracting & Scrap Metal Inc., L’Heureuse Construction and Services Inc., GuyAmerica Construction Inc., AJM Enterprise, Vals Construction, Puran Bros Disposal Inc., and JS Guyana Inc.
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