APNU parliamentarian Sherod Duncan today said that the $1.4 billion Port Kaituma stelling remains effectively at a standstill and renewed his call for Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill to resign over the prolonged delay and its implications for maritime travel to the North West District.
Duncan said he visited the project today with former Member of Parliament Ronald Cox and other members of his team and was told by residents that there had been no meaningful movement at the site for more than a year.
“I have been visiting and raising concerns about this project since 2022, through engineering problems, missed deadlines and repeated promises of completion. Four years later, Port Kaituma is still waiting,” Duncan said in a statement.
He argued that the failure to complete the stelling could no longer be separated from the July 18 capsizing of the 87-year-old MV Barima, which was travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.
The new stelling was intended to accommodate the India-built MV Ma Lisha and other newer vessels serving Region One. However, because the facility was not completed, the MV Ma Lisha could not dock at Port Kaituma and the ageing MV Barima remained in service on the route.
Duncan contended that had there been proper planning, competent engineering, rigorous supervision and timely completion of the project, dependence on the MV Barima could have ended before the disaster.
“That connection demands investigation and accountability at the highest level of the Ministry,” he said.
The MV Barima capsized off the Essequibo Coast after departing Georgetown for Port Kaituma. Seventy-three bodies have since been recovered, while an estimated 30 passengers remain unaccounted for.
Duncan said questions had surrounded the suitability of the Log Pond site, the adequacy of geotechnical investigations, the depth of the piles, soil movement, the retaining-wall design and the supervision of the project.
The construction contract was awarded to International Import and Supplies on December 30, 2022 following public tendering. Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants (CEMCO) was responsible for the design and supervision.
According to a timeline published by Kiskadee Watch Edghill announced in September 2022 that a new stelling would be built at Port Kaituma to accommodate the MV Ma Lisha. The project was initially expected to cost around $1 billion, but the construction contract was subsequently awarded for $1.4 billion.
In January 2024, Edghill reported that the project was 77% complete and said it was expected to be finished by the third quarter of that year. Two months later, the Department of Public Information reported that it was 85% complete and was expected to be finished by April 17, 2024.
Construction was halted after fissures developed in the backfilled section of the structure.
International Import and Supplies later said the project was approximately 90% complete in February 2024 when fissures were discovered during the final stages of casting pile caps. It said work was immediately halted and the Ministry of Public Works and consultant were notified.
The contractor maintained that its role was limited to building the structure according to the designs and specifications supplied to it. It said an independent review found deficiencies in the original design, including inadequate tie-rod strength, and that a revised design required longer and thicker piles and tie rods.
Edghill subsequently confirmed to the Sunday Stabroek that CEMCO had acknowledged design flaws. At the time, he could not say what the remedial work would cost taxpayers but gave an assurance that the facility would be completed.
Duncan today said both International Import and Supplies and CEMCO must account for their respective responsibilities but maintained that the minister could not “contract out ministerial responsibility”.
“His Ministry commissioned this project, supervised the expenditure of approximately $1.4 billion in taxpayers’ money, received the reports and warnings, and was responsible for ensuring that critical public infrastructure was delivered safely and on time,” he said.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC said earlier this month that he was reviewing the contracts connected to the project and that legal action could follow if there was evidence of negligence by the contractor, supervising consultant or Ministry of Public Works.
Duncan called on the government to release the engineering and geotechnical reports, supervision records, contract variations, payments, remedial costs and explanations for each missed deadline. He also said the project should form part of the wider accountability process surrounding the MV Barima disaster.
“This is no longer merely the story of another delayed government project. It is about whether years of failed supervision left an ageing vessel in service when safer arrangements should already have been available,” he said.
“Ministerial responsibility must mean something. For the families who lost loved ones, for the people of Port Kaituma and for taxpayers across Guyana, we reiterate our call: Edghill must go.”
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