Sheriff Street contractor could soon face sanctions

With eleven months already passed since a contract was signed with Sinohydro Corporation Ltd for the construction of the Mandela Avenue/Sheriff Street expansion project, no significant progress has been made, which adds to years of being delayed by various technicalities, as such, the Guyana Government is contemplating implementing possible sanctions.
Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson has said he is disappointed at the pace at which the project is moving and his ministry had made this opinion known to the contractor.
The Minister reminded that the contract was signed since 2017. He said that while there were some issues that may have led to a delay, there is barely anything done.
The Minister further explained that there is nothing preventing the contractor from pushing in extra hours to ensure that the project meets the deadline.
According to him, there is no restriction on work time, especially since the company would have submitted a traffic management plan, which was reviewed and approved allowing it the time to work on that major road.
The US$31.03 million contract was awarded to the company last year. The two-year project is aimed at covering approximately seven kilometres of road.
The project which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), involves the following works: relocation of utilities, lane and shoulder improvements, placement of sidewalks and paved shoulders, traffic signals, traffic signs, streetlights, drainage, a pedestrian overhead walkway, bridges, among others.
The IDB had, earlier last year, revised the scope of works on this road project, putting it on hold and delaying the opening of tenders for the project.
This was done following discussions entered into with the Finance Ministry aimed at achieving completion of the project before the loan deadline set by the IDB had expired.