Govt allowing contractors to lead project – Jagdeo

New Demerara river crossing

…reiterates non-support for medium level open bridge

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has criticised Government for the approach it has taken in regard to implementation of the New Demerara River Crossing project, wherein it is allowing the contractors to take the lead in helping to design the new bridge.

General Secretary of the PPP/C, Bharrat Jagdeo, has described this move as incompetent, and has said it only shows how unsure the Government is about what is it undertaking.
Jagdeo recalled that the aim was to have three contractors who would provide proposals either to fund the bridge or have a public/private partnership (PPP) with the Government. Instead, the Opposition Leader has claimed, Government is waiting on the three handpicked contractors to decide on the design.
“Nowhere in the world has this happened. When we built the Berbice Bridge, we decided from the beginning that we wanted a public/ private partnership. We developed a prospectus and a financial model for the bridge. We changed the laws for a PPP, and we went out for tender for investors,” he said.
Jagdeo has said that, in the case of the new Demerara River Crossing project, the contractor will be leading the project. He also reiterated his party’s non-support for a bridge which has to open, as currently obtains.

“We will support the Government if it goes with a high-level bridge that is fixed; that has no opening. And once it is transparently pursued, we will support the Government,” he added.
The Opposition has long said it would not support a medium-level bridge that has to open. Jagdeo said the Government has a responsibility to define the parameters.
“Because we don’t want to be stuck with such a project in the next two years; and if we get into office, we will have to fix something that is not in the best interest of Guyana,” he explained.
During last year, the PPP/C had lodged a formal complaint with the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), calling for an investigation into the selection and award of a $146 million contract to Dutch firm LievenseCSO for the feasibility study of the new Demerara River Crossing/Bridge.
In a letter to the Chairperson of the PPC, Carol Corbin, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira had outlined that the company had not tendered for the project, but was awarded the multi-million-dollar contract.
“I therefore call on the Public Procurement Commission under Article 212 AA (1) (a), (c), (d), (g), (i), and (j) of the Guyana Constitution to immediately investigate the process and procedures used for the bidding, selection and the award of tender to a company, LievenseCSO, that did not tender for the consultancy of the Feasibility Study and designs of a new Demerara River Crossing,” Teixeira said to the PPC head, in her letter which was dated September 18, 2017.
The Opposition Chief Whip detailed that, back in January last year, it was reported that some 22 companies had responded to a public advertisement, and had submitted expressions of interest for a consultancy for the feasibility study and design of a new Demerara River crossing.
She cited media reports detailing that the Public Infrastructure Ministry’s Chief Works Officer, Geoffrey Vaughn, had disclosed that the Ministry had already evaluated the tenders and had handed over the list to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) for processing.
Teixeira went on to outline that it was also reported “on December 8, the National Procurement & Tender Administration opened the bids from seven European and four Chinese companies, which signalled their interests. Several other overseas companies have applied for the contract, some in partnership with local firms”.
Besides replacing the outdated Demerara Harbour Bridge, the new Demerara River crossing is geared at reducing traffic congestion; but based on projections, a few years after the completion of the proposed bridge, the administration will be required to construct another bridge.