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Cracks emerge in unfinished $741.5M Housing Ministry HQ – Patterson
…as project faces year-long delay
(Kaieteur News) – Serious concerns have been raised regarding the structural integrity of the semi- constructed Ministry of Housing Headquarters along the Heroes Highway, East Bank Demerara.
In a photo taken on June 1, 2026 by former Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament, David Patterson visible cracks marred the building’s exterior walls. However, another photo taken on Thursday, June 4 at 14:00h showed that the cracks painted over with another coat of paint.
“Put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig!” Patterson said on Facebook.
Engineering and political observers warn that the building is showing signs of structural failure while under “dead load”, meaning it is cracking under nothing more than its own structural weight, before factoring in human occupants, office furniture, or equipment.
Cracks identified in building structure. Photo credit: David Patterson
Speaking with Kaieteur News on the condition of anonymity, an experienced civil engineer familiar with the geographic terrain of the East Bank corridor revealed that the structural fractures point to a fundamental foundation failure. According to the source, the issues likely stem from the absence of a rigorous geotechnical survey prior to structural planning.
“The cracking indicates that either no proper geotechnical survey was done, or the survey failed to correctly identify the mandatory depth of the piles needed to anchor the building,” the engineer explained.
Cracks identified in building structure. Photo credit: David Patterson
The specialist noted that the area alongside Heroes Highway consists heavily of historic swamp lands, which remain highly unstable.
“There is an immense amount of subsurface movement in the earth in that specific zone simply because it was, and still is, a swamp land. An environment like that demands significantly deeper piles and a far more robust, specialized foundation design. If they didn’t design or build a foundation tailored to suit that swamp terrain, this building is going to sink a lot more,” the engineer told Kaieteur News.
The issue gained public traction after Patterson, raised the alarm on social media. Patterson expressed alarm after passing the facility and noting structural deficiencies so early in the building’s lifecycle.
“Passed the new Housing HQ on Heroes Highway today and was honestly surprised by the visible cracks already forming on the exterior walls, especially at such an early stage of construction,” Patterson stated.
The former parliamentarian emphasised that the current cracking occurs under minimal stress. He warned that at this point, the building is only experiencing dead load, and once live loads are introduced, such as people, furniture, and equipment, further settlement is likely.
“A well-constructed structure shouldn’t be showing this level of cracking so soon,” Patterson added, before leveling sharp criticism at the government’s procurement choices.
“Anyway, what do we expect if you award the project to a security company [Sheriff Construction Company] as the saying goes, ‘money have to mek’.”
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THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
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Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
Those “circles” identifying cracks in this building, may not be ALL the cracks.
The biggest crack in this, is the CRACKHEAD who gave a construction contract
to a security firm. How many buildings did this particular security firm put up
from scratch, Mr. Crackhead in the PPP Government ?
No wonder why so many others are on drugs.