The Gy$3.6 billion East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) Northern Relief Channel has missed the scheduled December 31 deadline, the major reason being that the contractor responsible for the eight-door sluice component has completed just about 50 per cent of the work.
Considering that the project is the first of its kind in Guyana, and will be a major engineering achievement for Guyanese engineers and workers, the Agriculture Ministry has extended the deadline of commissioning the project by two months, and is working with the contractor to have more than 90 per cent of the work completed and the project functional by February 14.
At the beginning of December, only 47 per cent of the sluice was completed. Minister Ramsammy, in a recent interview, said the ministry met with the contractor, Courtney Benn Contracting Services.
Following discussions, it was agreed that the outstanding work will be carried out in six phases to meet the 90 per cent mark.
Minister Ramsammy explained that there will still be work to be done after the sluice meets this 90 per cent completion point under the contract, but this will not impact the functioning of the canal.
He pointed out that the ministry planned the tranches of work going into February, bearing in mind rainy conditions in January.
Sloth
There were some suggestions that because of the sloth in work on the sluice that the ministry should have terminated the contract with Courtney Benn.
Minister Ramsammy noted that such a move would not be wise because it would have seen the extension of the work to the end of 2014.
He noted too that Courtney Benn Construction Services has been a stable contracting firm on the local scene for a long time and has done some excellent work.
The minister said he believes that the firm has the capacity to complete this project, and the ministry will work with it to realise this goal.
As it pertains to the other components of the project, the roadside bridge and the road leading to it have been completed, though the contractor is still on site doing “mopping up”, Minister Ramsammy said.
The canal itself is 95 per cent completed.
The shaping of the dam along the entire length of the canal is about 75 per cent completed, and, as indicated earlier by the minister, will be done after the entire project is completed, following the settling of the soil.
This shaping and reshaping of the dam is to be a continuous process that will be conducted over the next 12 to 24 months. The head regulator is at the point where the gates are being constructed to be fitted into the structure.
Outside of this, all that remains is the landscaping and shaping of the dam outside the head regulator.
