PURAN Brothers Disposal Inc., the supporting company in the execution of the construction and operation of the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill (HBSL) project, aback of Eccles, East Bank Demerara, has distanced itself from the project, which ever so often is in the public spotlight. A statement released yesterday by the disposal company says that while the company participated in the bidding process for the project by means of a joint-venture arrangement, it has never been part of the construction and operations at the landfill facility.
After being awarded the contract through the joint- ventureship, Puran Brothers disclosed that while they were prepared to perform their role in the operations, “we were regrettably excluded from all aspects of the project by the leading partner, BK International.”
In that light, the company related yesterday that it “wishes to make it explicitly clear that it would not be held responsible for any work site accidents with resulting injuries or death, any negative environmental impact or any form of mismanagement pertaining to the operations of the landfill facility.”
However, notwithstanding their exclusion from the HBSL contract, Puran Brothers said that the company “stands ready” to perform all necessary remedial works and “take on the day-to-day operations of this very important facility.”
Highlighting that they have over 20 years of experience in solid waste management, and a proven track record in managing and rehabilitating other landfills, Puran Brothers Inc. said the company remains confident that they can operate the HBSL facility within the confines of internationally-accepted standards.
But according to a source close to BK International, the sole company responsible for the construction and operation of the HBSL facility, the joint venture found that Puran Brothers was “not bringing anything to the table.”
The source further disclosed that while the report that they (Puran Brothers) were excluded from the operation and construction of the facility, there were justifiable reasons for their exclusion.
“They [Puran Brothers] were not invited to perform… they took BK International to court and the court ruled in favour of BK since they brought nothing to the table,” the source said, adding that, “what they are doing now is trying to persuade BK to give them the job now.”
Signed in 2007, the then Government of Guyana (GoG) and the IDB entered a loan agreement to finance the estimated US$20 million Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill (HBSL) Project. Despite being signed since 2007, however, the project was not operationalised until the latter part of 2011.
Construction giant, BK International, supported by Puran Brothers Disposal Services, was awarded a US$9.7M contract, whereby the two entities were tasked with constructing the landfill and operating the site over a five-to-nine-year period.
Initially, the bank had commenced disbursing the resources from 2007 with the expectation of the project being completed within five years. In addition to financing, the IDB has also been providing training and capacity-building skills to those persons managing the project.

By Ravin Singh