Former President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said President Donald Ramotar should seek explanations from the Chinese government about the conduct of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), since it is state-owned, because the credibility of both governments and the company hinges upon the response, as does the fate of the expansion initiative to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
The former president also advised that President Ramotar review the CJIA contract to ascertain whether Guyana will be getting value for its money, and whether there is any illegality in the project. Dr. Jagdeo opined that on the basis of the explanations given, President Ramotar should make a decision on the project’s feasibility. He, however, stressed that the imperative is that the new CJIA gets built, since its expansion is important to Guyana’s development.
Like Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo recognised that he  had only little time to implement some of the plans he had engineered to continue the upward trajectory of Guyana’s development, and frenetically explored options that could jump-start the concretisation of these visions that he had/still has for Guyana, with the ever-present recognition of constraints of needs, time, and money.  Hence it is within this landscape that he negotiated the Chinese soft loan for the project.
However, as usual, the unpatriotic denizens of the opposition once again went into a frenzy of accusations in efforts to derail the project, as they do for every developmental project the government initiates.
The World Bank had debarred China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the parent company of China Harbour Engineering Company Limited, from being eligible to bid on road and bridge projects funded by the bank for the period 2009 to 2017.
The blacklisting issue was first raised by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) of Jamaica, which stated in a release that it had discovered that CHEC’s parent company CCCC and, by extension, CHEC, have been debarred, since January 2009, by the World Bank, under the bank’s Fraud and Corruption Sanctioning Policy.
However, in a release, CHEC Regional Director Zhongdong Tang said the issue of the blacklisting of CCCC is not a new matter.
“The issue raised by the Office of the Contractor General in Jamaica was inherited by CCCC when it took over China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) in 2005. It dates back to 2002 and relates to CRBC, which was invited by the government of the Philippines to bid for a World Bank-funded road project. The project was abolished by the Philippine government in 2006 as a result of disputes between that government and the World Bank,” Tang said in the release.
He maintained that CHEC is not involved in and has never been involved in any activity that has attracted any sanctions by the World Bank. “CHEC itself has never been under any investigation by the World Bank.”
According to Tang, in January 2009, an announcement by the World Bank and subsequent newspaper articles alleged that CRBC was engaged in collusive practices in relation to the World Bank- financed road project in the Philippines. According to the announcement, the World Bank decided to impose debarment of seven firms (including three Chinese companies) and one individual for the alleged matter. CRBC received no claim or allegation from the Philippine government or the owner of the project.
CRBC maintained that since January 2009, the World Bank’s allegation against the corporation has no factual or legal merit. CCCC initiated discussions with the World Bank to arrive at a resolution of the issue. At the time of the debarment in January 2009, the sanction was imposed on CRBC and not on CCCC, or any other subsidiary of the company.
The designation of CCCC and its related companies under the debarment came about in July 2011, based on changes made at that time to the World Bank system which prescribed that successor organisations would be subject to the same sanctions applied to the original firm.
In January 2009, CCCC, as a joint stock limited company, issued a full statement on the matter to the Hong Kong Exchange. Over the past years, CCCC and the World Bank affiliate, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), have become shareholders in an Asian investment fund. CHEC operates successfully worldwide in accordance with the laws and regulations of countries and maintains the highest ethical standards of integrity and corporate governance. As recognised by the World Bank itself, the government of the People’s Republic of China has passed several laws which hold companies organised under Chinese law such as CCCC and CHEC, to the highest anti-corruption standards. CHEC’s overseas operations continue to abide by these very high standards.
CHEC was awarded a US$138 million contract to build a modern terminal at the CJIA and also extend the runway. Financing of the contract will be provided by China Exim Bank. In a statement announcing the project, the government of Guyana had said that the project is expected to include an extension of the runway to a total of 10,800 feet to accommodate large, transatlantic aircraft such as the Boeing 747, along with construction of a new terminal building, acquisition of eight boarding bridges, and installation of other state-of-the-art equipment such as elevators, escalators, and x-ray scanners using three-dimensional technology along with flight information and security monitoring systems.
Once completed, the project would ensure that the CJIA is able to meet the needs of projected traffic for several years into the future, along with becoming a hub for regional and continental traffic.
(CHEC) is a world-renowned international contractor that is a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC). CHEC has 40 overseas branches and offices with business activities covering more than 70 countries and areas. The company is currently employing over 7,000 domestic and international staff to undertake 10 billion USD worth of projects.
CHEC is focused on basic infrastructure construction, such as Marine Engineering, Dredging and Reclamation, Road and Bridge, Railways, Airports, Complete Plant, and other works. CHEC prides itself on providing a full service to its clients and uses its international engineering experience, global business network, talented management team and robust financial backing to offer clients a wide range of service options, such as D&B, EPC, PMC, BT and BOT.
Founded in 1980, China Harbour operated as a group company before its merger with China Road and Bridge to create CCCC in 2005. CHEC is now the major international operating division of the CCCC group which was ranked 211th among the Global 500 Companies in 2011 and the 11th in 225 Top International Contractors (ENR) , equivalent first among all Chinese international contractors.
Alongside business expansion and improvement, CHEC also maintains a sense of social responsibility. Donations, financial support and contributions to public welfare schemes are as important to CHEC as its commercial activities.
CHEC, the company contracted to remodel the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), has assured Guyanese that they should not be fearful of any fallout with the World Bank because of the debarment of its parent company from accessing contracts funded by the Bank.
This assurance came in response to an article that appeared in the Stabroek News under the headline, “Airport contract haze might discourage overseas financing”.
In a release, the Chinese company said that the article speculated that Guyana could lose investments arising from the World Bank’s retroactive debarment of China Communication Constructions Company Limited (CCCC) and its subsidiary CHEC in 2011, from road and bridge projects financed by the World Bank.
In a statement, CHEC pointed out that the article ignored the fact that the debarment is limited to road and bridge projects financed by the World Bank during the period 2009 to 2017. CHEC is also making clear that it knows of no issue arising from the matter between CCCC and the World Bank that could result in Guyana losing investments if CHEC is allowed to construct the expansion of the airport in accordance with the existing agreement. CHEC has already made it clear that the company has never been involved in any activity which has attracted sanctions by the World Bank or any other international agency.
According to the company’s representative, the sanction against CCCC and its affiliates arose out of a matter dating back to 2002 with China Road and Bridge Corporation, which was taken over in 2005 by CCCC.
The article referenced that, “the matter may have to do with competence of a company to execute an assignment and hence might have had to resort to corrupt measures in order to go forward with a particular project,” which the company declared as an unfortunate inference that is incorrect and unable to stand against the proven expertise and track record of CHEC.
The release indicts the article upon the contention that the reference also contradicts the company’s firm commitment to the highest levels of integrity, effective corporate governance systems and strict compliance with the laws and regulations of every country in which CHEC operates, insisting that China Harbour practises stringent anti-corruption measures and rules which are a feature of employee and service provider contracts, and which are in keeping with the stern and rigorous anti-corruption standards instituted by the government of the People’s Republic of China for all businesses organised under Chinese law, including CHEC and CCCC.
CHEC asserted that it possesses world-class technical expertise that is superior in the international infrastructure construction business. It is this advanced technology, knowledge and capacity which enabled CHEC to have successfully bid for and constructed the new international airports in countries across the world, numbering more than 600 complex engineering and construction projects successfully undertaken by CHEC throughout the world
The company avers that its projects bring value to satisfied client institutions, governments and people.
Guyana stands to benefit from CHEC’s involvement in the airport reconstruction as the project will be completed in an efficient and timely manner, delivering value for money, creating much needed jobs and an airport capable of boosting international travel to the country.
Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has guided this country into safe economic waters from a landscape of absolute ruination, and it is unlikely that he would have been negligent in his verification processes; albeit with the recognition of Guyana’s financial status and the need for just such a developmental partner.
His call for a review is not about doubting the ability of the Chinese Goverrnment and company, but is to compromise with doubting Thomases and lay to rest the suspicions and reservations of the Guyanese populace, as a responsibility of Government to provide necessary assurance to all stakeholders that it is acting in the country’s and people’s best interests.
The opposition collective, including the media hostile to government, as is their wont, will continue to attempt to shoot down all developmental programmes structured to uplift the standards of this country so that it can be competitive with its global counterparts, except that the only vision the opposition has is to counter government’s visionary development works.