EVEN as the use of Chinese labour is at the centre of a controversy currently rocking the city, the converse now holds true for the delay in the laying of a fibre-optic cable from Brazil to Guyana.     The project at reference is currently undergoing its final round of tests, which will be completed by the end of this month.

Alexei Ramotar, Head of the Unit at the Office of the President responsible for the installation of the multi-million-dollar cable, told the Guyana Chronicle last week that the delays can be attributed to using a local workforce.

He said the installation of the cable was an arduous task, not undertaken before by a local workforce.  The installation of the cable required several pieces of sensitive equipment that had to be flown into the country and had the project utilised the services of overseas specialists, Ramotar said that work on the cable would have been completed already.  

The project, which commenced in early 2011, is intended to boost the government’s ability to carry out its “e-governance” strategy.

As it relates to the public’s access to the services of the cable, Ramotar said,  that is a decision that will have to be taken by Government.

The 560-kilometre cable was laid in six blocks – from Lethem to Annai, from Annai to Kurupukari, from Kurupukari to Mabura, Mabura to Wisroc, Wisroc to Providence and then from Providence to Georgetown.

Five repeater stations need to be constructed with the most advanced one being based in Linden.   The cable was laid in 10-kilometre stretches, and as a result connecting “joint boxes” also had to be constructed at 10-kilometre intervals.

The landing of the cable was done by MMC, Dax Contracting and Dynamic Engineering, which were responsible for burying cables along the route while Guyana Power and Light (GPL) utility poles were also utilised to suspend the cables where necessary.

The design of the project was carried out by E-Networks (Guyana), Huawei (China) and Oi (Brazil).