THE Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has suspended the disbursement of funds for the ongoing US$31 million Sheriff/Mandela road expansion project owing to health and safety violations by the contractor.

This is according to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson in a post on his Facebook page, on Monday. According to Patterson, the IDB has suspended the disbursement of funds to the Chinese contractor, Sinohydro Corporation Limited because of serious health and safety infractions. “The IDB has suspended disbursement to the project because of the numerous serious health and safety infractions as well as traffic management failures by the contractor,” said Patterson, adding that the contractor was warned on several occasions to rectify those issues but unfortunately, majority of failures identified have remained outstanding.

The road expansion contract is subject to performance audits by the IDB. And, Patterson said he has been on record, on several occasions, raising the issue about this contractor’s performance, so the suspension of disbursements by the IDB does not come as a surprise.
Despite the contractor’s failure to rectify the issue, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) has already commenced actions to address the defaulting issues, since some of the failures pose serious safety risks to the general public.

The issue was brought to light after Sinohydro Corporation Limited dismissed an employee and said it was because MoPI failed to pay them (the contractor) for the last three months.
“While the dismissal of any employee is regrettable, the contractor should not seek to blame any other entity for the clear disregard of contractual obligations. A full statement will be provided by the MoPI tomorrow November 19, 2019 (today),” said Minister Patterson.

The IDB-funded Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue road expansion project was contracted to the company in December 2017 but work commenced in August 2018, following surveying work.

The project was intended to improve road safety; simplify traffic movements; provide adequate drainage for the road corridor and interdependent communities; and extend the design life of the pavement and all roadway structures to a minimum of 20 years from the expected end of construction.

This stretch of road will see the construction of a two-lane roadway with a concrete median portioning the two lanes along Sheriff Street, while Mandela Avenue will involve expansion of the roadway from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with a central concrete median and shared-use paths.

A roundabout will be constructed at the junction of Sheriff Street and David Street/Railway Embankment Road, while the completed roadway will also be outfitted with the requisite road safety amenities, including sidewalks, bicycle lanes and adequate parking spaces. Bridges will also be upgraded; while in the vicinity of East Ruimveldt and North Ruimveldt Secondary schools, there will be a pedestrian overpass.