Work speeding up on Indian immigration monument
…as PM Modi set to arrive in December
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be in Guyana in early December and “serious” work is being done to ensure that the reconstruction of the collapsed Indian immigration monument base at Palmyra, Corentyne is completed before he gets here, according to State Minister Joseph Harmon.
Harmon made the disclosure at a post-cabinet press briefing yesterday, where he also announced that cabinet has noted the award of a $38M contract under the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) for the construction of a visitors’ gallery and security hut at the site. Kascon Engineering Services will be carrying out the construction works.
The minister was unable to provide details about Modi’s visit. “I don’t have the details but I know he is coming sometime early in December”, he said before adding that the aim is to have the momument built in its original format and in this regard some extensive work is being done to ensure that the completed structure is “something that is fitting for the Prime Minister to be able to come and see when he gets here”.
During March 2017, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, together with the Indian High Commissioner, Venkatachalam Mahalingam, had unveiled a signboard depicting the monument at the chosen Palmyra location. Nagamootoo, during that unveiling ceremony, had told media operatives that $97 million had been allocated for the building of the structure upon which the monument would be placed.
Initiated under the former Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the base for the US$150,000 bronze sculpture, a gift from the Government of India, crumbled last year April while Phase 2 works were ongoing, in a bid to meet the May 5th Indian Arrival Day observances.
It was said to have been 85% completed at the time of the collapse.
The project had initially been divided into three phases. Phase one, which dealt with the preparatory works, including the construction of an access road at the site, was awarded to Erron Lall Civil Engineering Works on September 12, 2016, at a cost of $43 million, following bids from 13 companies. The Department of Public Information (DPI) had stated that up to the point of collapse, some $26.5 million had been paid to the contractor and 60% of the works had been completed.
Phase two, which entailed the construction of the base, had been contracted to Alternative Contracting Enterprise, at a cost of $42.2 million. The contractor had been paid $22.8 million up to that point, and while government gave no estimate of the works completed, an employee had told this newspaper it was 85% complete.
Phase three entails landscaping and finishing works at the site. Bids were received from 11 companies, and an $8.2 million contract for the work had been awarded to BK International. DPI had said that that aspect of the works has since been suspended.
The Indian government had promised technical assistance, according to DPI, which had issued a statement on the collapse, blaming the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) for the poor design of the structure.
Former Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony, under the PPP/C, had denied any Cabinet has noted the award of a US$15,627,300 contract that caters, in part, for the construction of a passenger and cargo ferry vessel, Minister of State Joseph Harmon announced yesterday.
The vessel, once completed, will traverse between Georgetown and Mabaruma, located in the Barima/Waini region.
Speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing, Harmon said that the contract, which was awarded to Shoft Shipyard Private Limited under the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s Transport and Harbours Department, caters for the construction and supply of a vessel and associated equipment
Later, he explained that government is getting funding from India, while noting the award of the contract came after a lengthy process. “It has taken some time because these things have to go through …our public service is one thing but the Indian public service is also another issue. It takes a little bit of time from actual conceptualisation of a project to funding for it. So, it would have gone through several phases and we have actually now gotten to the point where a company has been identified to construct the ferry,” he said.