Faulty design, weak foundation doomed Port Kaituma wharf from the start – Mahipaul

Jul 31, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – APNU Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul says the Port Kaituma Wharf was structurally compromised before construction even began, blaming a flawed design and an inadequate foundation for the failures that have since forced sections of the facility to be rebuilt.

In a letter issued Thursday, Mahipaul said the project was undermined from the outset by poor engineering decisions and insufficient site investigation — not by any failure on the part of the contractor.

Mahipaul used a simple analogy to explain the core problem: building on unstable ground.

“Imagine trying to build a house on soft mud instead of solid ground. No matter how well you build it, it will eventually start to sink or fail. That is essentially what happened here,” he said.

He placed the responsibility for the design squarely on Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants Inc. (CEMCO), stating that the contractor had simply built according to the drawings it was given.

According to Mahipaul, the steel piles meant to anchor the wharf were never driven deep enough to reach firm ground, leaving them embedded in soft mud instead.

Compounding the problem was the site itself. The wharf was constructed on land known as “Log Pond,” the former location of a sawmill, where old logs, timber waste, and other debris remain buried beneath the surface. Mahipaul argued that this history called for far more thorough ground investigation than was carried out.

“The soil testing was inadequate. Not enough test holes were drilled, and not enough samples were taken to properly understand what lay beneath the surface,” he said.

Beyond the foundation issues, Mahipaul identified several design errors that added unnecessary strain to an already weak structure: The concrete retaining wall was larger and heavier than necessary, adding extra pressure on the foundation.

He said too that the steel rods and anchor piles used were the wrong size and grade. And that the engineers underestimated the amount of backfill required, and too much fill material was placed behind the wall.

That excess weight ultimately proved too much for the structure to bear.

“The supports failed. Some of the steel tie rods snapped under the pressure, causing sections of the retaining wall to collapse,” Mahipaul said.

He noted that temporary repairs — similar to emergency works previously carried out at Kumaka — could have allowed vessels such as the MV Ma Lisha to berth safely in the interim, but that option was never pursued.

Mahipaul was emphatic that the contractor bore no responsibility for the failure, having built the wharf in line with the drawings and quantities specified by the consultant. The real issue, he argued, was a design built on faulty assumptions and undermined by inadequate site investigation and engineering error.

“When a structure is built from a defective design, even good construction cannot prevent failure,” he said.

He went further, questioning why the consultant continues to receive major government contracts despite what he described as serious engineering failures at Port Kaituma.

“If CEMCO was responsible for such serious engineering failures at Port Kaituma, why does the company continue to be entrusted with major public projects in Guyana? Currently, that same consultancy firm has oversight of the Gas-to-Energy transmission and substations network,” he said.

Mahipaul’s letter adds to a string of concerns already raised about the $1.4 billion Port Kaituma Stelling project. Stabroek News reported in August 2024 that Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had confirmed CEMCO acknowledged design flaws after fissures developed in the structure, requiring remedial work. At the time, Edghill said the additional costs involved were not yet clear.

“We are now looking at the solution we think we have found. We are now remedying that… I can give you the assurance it will be completed and the people will have the service they deserve,” Edghill told the Sunday Stabroek.

The wharf’s troubles have taken on greater weight in the wake of the MV Barima tragedy on July 18, which prompted questions over why the ageing vessel remained in service rather than the newly acquired MV Ma Lisha.

Speaking at the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Edghill explained that the US$12.7 million MV Ma Lisha — which arrived in Guyana in April 2023 to boost river transport for hinterland communities — has yet to make its maiden voyage to Port Kaituma because the wharf built for it developed structural problems after the soil shifted.

“The only reason why the MV Ma Lisha has not yet made a maiden journey to Port Kaituma is that we have built out the wharf for that boat to berth and everybody in the area knows there was significant movement of the soil and we had to break out a whole section and have it reconstructed,” Edghill said.

He added that extensive work had been carried out on the MV Barima, which, prior to the July 18 tragedy, had been the preferred vessel for residents and business operators travelling to and from Port Kaituma.

 

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• APNU, Faulty Design, MV Barima, Port Kaituma wharf

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