By Mia Anthony
The $1.4 billion Port Kaituma stelling remains without a firm completion date more than two years after structural problems halted construction, while commuters are negotiating a makeshift wooden crossing through mud to access the waterfront.
Contractor Parmeshwar Jagmohan told Kiskadee Watch last Tuesday that further construction awaits consultations on a revised design and a new contractual arrangement.
During this newspaper’s visit to Port Kaituma, persons were seen using a piece of wood placed in the mud to reach the wharf. Boats were unable to dock properly at the access point because of the deteriorated condition of the steps leading onto the structure.
Several residents and business operators called for improvements but requested anonymity, saying they feared victimisation.
A woman who carries loads and trades in the area said the stelling needed to be repaired and made more accessible and commuter-friendly. Another man said he did not use the facility because of its deplorable condition.
A mechanic shop operator said that although the condition did not affect him personally, he recognised the need for the stelling to be rebuilt.
The prolonged construction delay has prevented the new facility from fulfilling its intended purpose of accommodating the larger, India-built MV Ma Lisha and improving passenger and cargo transportation to Port Kaituma.
It has also come under scrutiny following the July 18 sinking of the MV Barima, which continued serving the Georgetown–Port Kaituma route while the new stelling remained unfinished.
Jagmohan, whose company International Import and Supplies was awarded the construction contract, said an initial phase of remedial work had been completed using savings from the original contract. Discussions on the remaining works had been delayed by the recent illness of a consultant involved in the redesign, he said.
In August, Attorney General Anil Nandlall announced that he was reviewing contracts associated with the project and that legal action could follow if evidence of negligence emerged involving the contractor, consultants or Ministry of Public Works. He did not provide a completion date for that review, Kiskadee Watch reported.
Jagmohan said his company had been approximately two weeks away from completing the original construction when fissures developed, prompting a halt and an investigation involving the ministry, design consultant Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants (CEMCO) and other technical experts.
“The wharf continued to move” while investigations were underway, he said.
According to Jagmohan, subsequent assessments identified significant deficiencies in the original design, particularly its treatment of the different ground conditions on land and beneath the river.
He said borehole testing had been conducted on land but had not sufficiently addressed conditions in the river. A third-party consultancy team headed by Dr Narine of SRK Engineering, together with another consulting firm, was subsequently engaged to undertake a geotechnical assessment and develop a revised design.
Jagmohan alleged that the original consultant accepted responsibility for errors during discussions.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had previously confirmed that CEMCO acknowledged design flaws. Speaking to the Sunday Stabroek in August 2024, he said investigations had examined possible causes, including the steel used and ground movement.
Tests conducted overseas found no problem with the steel, while movement in the area had not been adequately accounted for in the design, the minister explained.
Jagmohan said samples of the steel tie rods supplied by his company were sent to Canada and found to meet the strength specifications required under the contract. He maintained that the materials were not responsible for the structural problems.
The contractor said the first phase of remedial construction was carried out with Brazilian partners following preparation of a new design. He described the completed work as a structural model for the remainder of the project.
That phase represented approximately 30 per cent of the overall revised works, according to Jagmohan. His account did not provide a detailed breakdown of the remaining construction or its anticipated cost.
He said his company had fulfilled its obligations under the original contract and that the completed works had been signed off. The government was now engaging him to continue under the revised design, he added.
However, another consultation was needed before the next steps could be finalised, and Dr Narine’s illness had delayed that meeting.
Jagmohan also said his company had lost confidence in CEMCO and had informed the consultancy that it would no longer cooperate with it, citing the deficiencies identified during the investigation.
The project’s history stretches back to preparations for the MV Ma Lisha, a larger ferry intended to carry passengers, vehicles and cargo between Georgetown and the North West District.
In January 2021, the Transport and Harbours Department signed an agreement with India’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited for the vessel’s construction, financed through an Indian line of credit. Its size required upgraded facilities at ports serving Region One.
Edghill announced a new Port Kaituma stelling in September 2022. The construction contract was awarded to International Import and Supplies on December 30 that year for $1.4 billion following public tendering.
The contractor has consistently maintained that its responsibility was to construct the facility according to the supplied drawings and specifications, with design and supervision undertaken separately.
Although the Ma Lisha had arrived in Guyana by June 2023, its entry into commercial service was delayed while stelling upgrades continued. It subsequently made its maiden voyage to Mabaruma in August 2023, but the Port Kaituma facility remained unfinished.
At a January 2024 press briefing, Edghill said the Port Kaituma project was 77 per cent complete and expected to be finished by the third quarter of that year.
Kiskadee Watch subsequently recalled that a March 2024 Department of Public Information report placed completion at 85 per cent and gave April 17, 2024, as the anticipated finishing date. Neither timetable was met.
International Import and Supplies said the works were approximately 90 per cent complete in February 2024 when fissures appeared during the final stages of casting pile caps in the backfilled section. It said construction stopped immediately and the ministry and consultant were notified.
The independent review led to a revised design requiring longer and thicker piles and tie rods.
In July 2024, the company publicly attributed the problems to design deficiencies rather than construction practices. It maintained that materials had been sourced according to specifications from approved suppliers and said preparations were being made to resume work.
Edghill’s subsequent acknowledgment of the design flaws was accompanied by an assurance that the facility would be completed. At that stage, he said the additional bill to taxpayers had not been determined.
The latest account follows earlier demands for accountability. Kiskadee Watch reported in August that APNU’s Sherod Duncan questioned the suitability of the site, geotechnical investigations, pile depths, retaining-wall design and supervision. He argued that both the contractor and consultant needed to account for their responsibilities, while maintaining that ministerial responsibility could not be delegated away.
Nandlall’s announced contractual review similarly encompassed the roles of the contractor, ministry and those responsible for design and supervision. The review was presented as part of the government’s response to the Barima disaster.
Jagmohan maintained on Tuesday that there had been no cost overrun on his company’s contractual works. That assertion does not establish the eventual cost of completing the wider revised project, for which he said further contractual arrangements were still required.
His account provided no firm date for the outstanding consultations, resumption of the remaining works or completion of the stelling.
Discussion