Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill has warned contractors recently awarded bridge construction contracts across Regions Two to Six that delays and unsafe practices will not be tolerated.
Edghill met the contractors yesterday at the ministry’s boardroom, along with senior engineers Sherod Parkinson and Colin Gittens, to outline expectations for the execution of the projects, adherence to timelines and workplace safety.
According to the ministry, the contractors were selected from more than 600 bidders. It did not state how many contracts had been awarded or disclose their combined value.
Edghill said close communication between contractors and the ministry’s engineers would be essential to completing the works.
“We will hold your hands and show you the ropes as you execute the work,” he said. “Therefore, supervisor-contractor relations ought to and have to be good because we don’t want issues arising during the construction phase because of poor relations between you, our partners, and our engineers.”
Gittens reminded contractors that they would be responsible for safety at their work sites and urged them to maintain good relations with residents.
“You are responsible for that structure and everything around it. Safety is not optional,” he said.
Edghill also warned against workers operating without personal protective equipment or wearing slippers while mixing cement.
“Our Guyanese seem to have an aversion to safety, so please ensure you enforce safety on your sites,” he said. “I don’t want to show up at any one of your projects and see any worker without their safety gear.”
The minister further instructed contractors not to dismantle existing bridges until all the material required to complete the replacement structures was at the site.
“We don’t want complaints of contractors opening the bridges, driving only two piles and then parking their machinery for months. That will not be accepted at all,” he said.
Contractors were told to refer unresolved disputes with ministry engineers directly to Edghill’s office if they remained unresolved for more than two weeks.
Site visits are expected to be conducted over the coming days, after which construction is to begin.
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