$717M A-Line pump station contract terminated

Jun 25, 2024 News

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha and Opposition Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, Ganesh Mahipaul

Kaieteur News – The $717 million contract for the construction of the A-Line pump station, Region Three has been terminated, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha has disclosed.

The Agriculture Minister told Kaieteur News that the contract has been terminated and the project halted due to non-performance by the contractor. The Minister explained that due to this set back, his ministry will re-start the tender process in search of another contractor to complete the project.

Over the weekend, Minister Mustapha visited Region Six where he said that there are several pump station projects ongoing across the country that are near completion.

“There are a number of contractors who are delinquent, I think the President (Irfaan Ali) at his press conference spoke about it, we have already started to charge liquidated damages on those contracts and I am hoping those contracts are completed shortly so we can commission them,” he said in a statement published by his Ministry on Facebook.

It was reported previously that following a national bidding process, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in April 2022 awarded a $717,095,940 contract to contractor Civcon Engineering Contractors for the A-Line pump station project. The project was expected to be completed in June 2023.

With the delay in completion of the project, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul publicly highlighted the slothfulness of that project, among others.

The construction site for the A-line pump station back in April this year. (Photo courtesy, Opposition Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul)

“While he (Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha) made a show of visiting the Canal No. 1 pump station, conveniently ignoring its neighbouring A-Line station and Pouderyoen Pump Stations, the truth is clear: projects across the region languish in a state of abandonment and disrepair,” Mahipaul said in a statement back in April.

Responding to the Opposition MP, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) in a statement at the time stated that over the years, the Ministry and the NDIA crafted programmes aimed at delivering quality drainage and irrigation infrastructure across the country, especially in vulnerable areas. These efforts, however, have been met with challenges as, oftentimes, the NDIA encountered contractors who have underperformed.

The Authority had further disclosed that these instances have been and are being addressed on a case by case basis. In some instances, the NDIA applied liquidated damages to contractors who have not been able to complete projects according to the contractual time period, the statement disclosed.

“In the case of the A-Line Pump station, the contractor has not been able to complete the project on time. As a result, liquidated damages are now being applied. The NDIA has noted that the contractor demobilized several pieces of equipment from the site. As such, the NDIA has notified the insurance company providing bonds on this project, and a file on the current situation has been sent to the Office of the Attorney General for advice on the way forward,” NDIA said back in April.

Kaieteur News had reported that the ministry through NDIA had also terminated a pump station contract ($978.7 million) for Black Bush Polder front-lands in Region Six due to poor quality and performance. That project has since been retendered and is now being executed by Quality Deliverer for $799 million.

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Ganesh Mahipaul, Minister of Agriculture, Opposition Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, terminated, Zulfikar Mustapha

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