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Dr Ramsammy made the disclosure during a recent interview in the Boardroom of the Agriculture Ministry on Regent Road, Georgetown.
Initially, the time for completing the job was set as March but was, subsequently, put back to June and more recently, to August.
In March, the Agriculture Minister had emphasised that August was the last extension and there will be none beyond then.
The US$15M scheme, slated to be the solution to flooding experienced in the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary areas during rainy periods, has four components:
* the more than 10 kilometres channel from the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC);
* a bridge across the public road;
* a conservancy head regulator with three gates, and
* a sluice at the canal’s Atlantic Ocean end which will have eight gates.
Ramsammy explained that the building of the sluice, which is being done by DIPCON Engineering, is only about 25 percent done.
QUITE RAPIDLY
“But don’t make that fool you, because the quarter of the work done is the part that takes the longest, that is driving the piles and doing some concrete work that sets the base. That work should take more of the time but, once that is done, the rest of it should go quite rapidly,” he said.
He pointed out that a common mistake made by some opposition commentators is that they are saying, if the contractor has taken more than a year to do a quarter of the work, then he would need three years more to finish. However, that is not so.
Ramsammy said meetings have been held with the consultants and the contractors and the latter determined that, if they work diligently, their task can be accomplished by August 31.
“We didn’t just give August 31. We, actually, discussed what is remaining to be done and we put the reasonable amount of time it could take to do it. So we are confident that the work to be done can be completed by the deadline,” he stated.
Ramsammy also advised that the overpass, for which BK International has the contract, is approximately 65 percent complete.
He said, like the sluice, it is a critical component and the contractor is not allowed to proceed unless the work is continuously inspected and approved.
Nevertheless, the minister said he is confident that the contractor will complete it before the August timeline, pointing out that he has had discussions with BK International and was assured that the firm is doing its best to finish the job.
Meanwhile, Ramsammy said the head regulator, which is to release water from the conservancy into the canal and is being installed by Courtney Benn Contracting Services, is more than 50 percent in place.
CONSTANT CONTACT
“Again, it is the half of the work that will take the longest. I have been in constant contact with the contractor; he is working with us to ensure we meet the deadline of August 31,” the minister said.
Ramsammy said the fourth component, which is the excavation of the canal itself, is being undertaken by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and, according to him; the completion of it is dependent on that of the other three components.
“As we approach the head regulator, we have to wait, because we can’t complete the canal until that head regulator is done. Until they complete the bridge, we can’t bring the canal up to there and same thing for where the sluice is,” he asserted.
The minister said the NDIA is not only digging the canal but also shaping the dams, which is resulting in some challenges because, in doing so, the workmen have to ensure that adequate drainage is created for farmers.
He said, though, that the ministry is collaborating with the farmers to conclude this part of the scheme.
