Supenaam stelling to be fixed

Government has earmarked some $67.5 million to fix the defective Supenaam Stelling, and materials to facilitate repairs are already being sourced.

Guyana Times International understands that the Transport and Harbours Department drafted designs for the corrective works to the stelling after the engineers discovered defects with the newly-built structure. These were awaiting cabinet’s approval. 

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds told Guyana Times International in November that the plan is to have the facility operable in time for the arrival of the two roll-on roll-off ferries expected from China under an agreement with Guyana. Construction of the two ferries is about to start in China, and Georgetown is hoping that the two vessels would arrive here no later than the end of 2011. 

The $500 million stelling built at Good Hope, Supenaam, Essequibo Coast became a controversial issue after it collapsed under the weight of vehicles when it was opened to traffic in May. 

After prolonged debate as to who was responsible for the structure’s collapse, President Bharrat Jagdeo instructed the prime minister to conduct an in-depth engineering review of the stelling and the circumstances leading to its failure, as well as how it can be fixed. 

Hinds selected two senior engineers, who successfully conducted the review, but the findings were never released to the public. However, there have been verified reports that the structure’s main faults were the design and supervision aspects of the project. 

In August, Cabinet Secretary Dr Luncheon suggested that the state would have to fund the corrective works, since the condition of the facility could set back ongoing efforts to make Supenaam a township. 

The Supenaam Stelling was built under the Community Services Enhancement Programme that seeks to transform four communities into towns: Charity, Supenaam, Parika and Bartica. The CSEP included the construction of the new Supenaam Stelling and upgrade of the Parika structure to accommodate the Chinese-built roll-on roll-off ferries.   

Construction started in March 2006 at a cost of $431 million, and the project was initially managed by the Local Government Ministry, but it was taken over by the Public Works Ministry in November 2009. The stelling was designed by SNC Lavalin, and built by contractor BK International, while Vikab Engineering supervised the project.