THE People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has commented on Government’s position that funding for the CJIA was grossly underestimated.The PPP/C in a statement referred to statements in sections of the media attributed to Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson. The two senior Government officials had stated that contract funding for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) was grossly underestimated and that several areas of expenditure were not included in the original contrac. These statements, the PPP/C said, are invidious attempts to deliberately misrepresent the project contract entered into with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
“The PPP/C administration always identified a design/build, fixed price contract, entered into between Guyana and CHEC which identified an amount of US$150M for specific activities, items and specified, related amounts, detailed in that contract signed in 2011,” the statement read.
This contract, the party asserted, is funded by US$138M provided for by a low-interest, concessional loan from the EXIM Bank of China and a matching US$12M provided by Guyana as the country’s required contribution for the total contract sum.
“These amounts were agreed, after intensive work and negotiations were done to bring the final contract sum into limits imposed by the funding available on offer from the People’s Republic of China’s funding mechanism at the time, and what was the possible via the then budgetary provisions.”
The PPP/C stated that it was often stated, that the activities, items and amounts for other works which had to be done, on Guyana’s account, were identified and worked up for funding via subsequent budgets and for completion through public tendering.
The items and amounts, stated by Harmon and Patterson, are basically the figures of the PPP/C’s government work specified to achieve all activities both for the CHEC contract and for the other works. “These items and activities include: a new car park, US$2.5M; baggage- handling conveyors, ticketing and other counters, furnishings and equipment for the terminal building US$12M; navigational aids,US$1.3M; utilities, US$ 0.06; fencing and lights,US$0.565M; and building relocations, US$0.510M; – all of which do not total up to the US$65M, which the new Government’s duo quote as now being, additionally required,” the party disclosed.
“It’s surprising that the amount US$65M, identified by the two ministers as being required for other works, is the same amount requested by CHEC in meetings with the PPP/C Government in 2014, to deal with the ground conditions and other issues. CHEC was at those meetings firmly advised to take seriously into account the design/build-fixed price contract which they had entered into, and that no further funding could be provided under the contract.”
Minister Harmon, the party stated, is also reported as saying that only six percent of work was done against an expenditure of US$30M. This deliberately disregards and misleads on the fact that US$20M was required and paid as the normal mobilization payment necessary to initiate the project. This has been previously publicly stated. The balance of some US$10 million has been paid against payment certificates invoiced for measured works completed.
“It is worthy to note, that the relocation of the GDF (Guyana Defence Force) Engineering Corps building was known to be required for the creation of the new car park and was funded by a separate contract to CHEC, much later, as funding was sourced through what was available to the GDF. A new building was completed, westwards of the airport site on land identified by the GDF, making the land available for the construction of the car park.”
Continuing with their explanation, the PPP/C related that the funding for all the other activities and items were identified to be split between the Ministry of Finance, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. Modifications to the nature, extent and costing of the other works were adapted, from time to time, particularly contingent on CHEC’s concerns that underlying ground conditions, on the originally intended northern extension, were poor, as a result of thicker pegasse and associated soft-clay sections.
This resulted in a decision to share the full runway extension between the northern and southern ends of the runway so as to mitigate these concerns. Additional ground geotechnical works were done to the south of the runway to confirm the validity of this approach.
“Project delays occurred because of: the AFC (Alliance For Change) and APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) intransigence; the blocking of budget funding in the 10th Parliament, along with the need to do additional geotechnical work on the runway extension southwards.
“In the interest of transparency,” the PPP/C stated, “particularly for the much discussed high-profile project, the party is calling on the new de facto Government to accord with the conditions of the design/build, fixed price CHEC CJIA contract and, also, to allow for scheduled releases for funding to facilitate national contractors participating in the various CJIA projects, in the long-delayed 2015 National Budget, as was originally envisaged by the previous PPP/C Government.”