Directions from Patterson caused a $ 124M sea defense project delay – BK insists
A picture of Minister Indar’s Facebook live showing part of the incomplete sea defense work.
Kaieteur News – Ganesh Sawh, Chief Engineer under BK International Incorporated, has alleged that instructions from former Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson have led to delays in the work of a $ 124M sea defense project.
Sawh made these and other comments yesterday, in response to a recent Kaieteur News story. In that story, it was revealed that BK International received 70 percent of the payment for a $ 124M project awarded over a year ago, but only 15 percent of the work was complete by January 21, 2020 The Junior Public Minister was. Works, Deodat Indar, who made these disclosures, during a visit on Sunday to Plantation Andrews, the site of the sea defense project.
According to Minister Indar, the project aimed to repair 1,000 feet of riprap sea defense in a Region Two village, with the completion date set for August 21, 2020. However, during the Minister’s site visit , it was found that barely The contractor had completed 150 feet, or 15 percent of the work.
However, when Kaieteur News spoke to BK Chief Engineer yesterday, he noted that 24 percent of the work had been completed, and that the delay was in the remaining 76 percent. This, he said, was due to instructions from former Minister Patterson.
According to Sawh, when BK started moving work in February last year at Plantation Andrews, Patterson had told the contractor to focus efforts on fracture repair in Danzig, Region Five. The engineer explained, “Two other contractors were repairing the breach at Danzig, but they were not doing a good job. So, Patterson and his Chief Hydraulics Officer instructed us to move over to Danzig to take over the repairs. ”
However, as work began to move in Danzig, the engineer had observed that a great deal of filter fabric was needed to begin the work. “Filter fabric was used as the foundation for the repairs. On this fabric, you would first lay the sand on it and then place the binders on top. It helps water pass, while preventing the soil from migrating through the fabric, ”explains Sawh.
Because all the equipment had been available for work at Plantation Andrews, Sawh said that the former Minister had told BK to use its filter fabric in Danzig, instead of the site it was intended for.
When it came time for BK to resume work on the Division Two site, the team realized it had exhausted all the fabric, so an order had to be placed for more, said the engineer. “We had placed the order for the fabric, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, it arrived until September last year,” he added.
Despite this, Sawh said now that the shipment has arrived, and that if good weather prevails, the repairs at Plantation Danzig could be completed within six weeks.