THE Kaieteur News has yet again mislead the people of our nation with its blatant lies when it was reported that the cost of the Reinforced Concrete Bridge linking  Parfait Harmonie to Canal #1 is Gy$80M while the contract sum is Gy$60.13M. The Ministry of Housing and Water and the Central Housing and Planning Authority are  the executing agencies for this contract. The delay in completing this contract is as a result of the challenges the contractor experienced in driving the concrete piles. The Housing Ministry, in conjunction with the contractor, subsequently engaged the services of an International Pile Driving Contractor (CK Pile testing) to execute a Dynamic Load Test on the piles in accordance with the ASTM. This was critical because upon completion of the bridge, the traffic is projected to be more than 15,000 vehicles daily.
The results of the testing were favourable and, as such, works are expected to resume within the next two weeks with the aim of completion within six to eight weeks. Failure on the part of the contractor to meet this deadline will result in termination of the contract.
In the interim, since the intended completion date for the contract has elapsed and the works are incomplete, the Housing Ministry has imposed penalties (Liquidated Damages) on the contractor.
More importantly, the Ministry of Housing and Water and the Central Housing and Planning Authority would like the residents of Parfait Harmonie (Westminster, Phases I and II, Onderneeming, Phases I and II, Recth – Door Zee, Phases I and II and Schoon–Ord) and the nation as a whole to know that it will continue to further invest in this mega- development by constructing an alternative access road (approximately eight metres wide and 2km long) within the vicinity of Goed Fortuin linking the West Bank Public Road to Parfait Harmonie Housing Scheme. The Housing Ministry is also pleased to inform the nation that this project is scheduled to be tendered on Saturday, 22 September, 2012.