Sheriff-Mandela contractor to foot bill for road safety works Gov’t undertakes

─meeting with contractor set for next week

DPI, Guyana, Monday, December 9, 2019

The contractor for the Sheriff-Mandela road expansion project, Sinohydro Corporation Ltd., will foot the bill for road safety works undertaken by the Government of Guyana.

Minister of Public Infrastructure Hon. David Patterson made this disclosure on Monday’s edition of the DPI’s One on One programme.

[L-R] Host of the One on One programme, Paul McAdam; Minister of Public Infrastructure, Hon. David Patterson

The Sheriff-Mandela project in July 2019

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) last month suspended disbursement of monies to the road expansion project citing failures of the contractor to comply with health, safety, and traffic management requirements.

“Whatever money we input we will recoup from the contractor. So, we will meet them [the contractor] next week and finalise that so that we can continue,” Minister Patterson stated.

According to Minister Patterson, “we have written to the IDB in 2018 expressing our concerns about the quality of the contractor. Expressing to them that we do not think this contractor has taken this job seriously.”

That letter was sent after Sinohydro took more than three months to start the roadwork, forcing the government to recommend that the contract be withdrawn at the time.

It was the IDB that urged the government to continue with the contractor and to increase oversight to ensure compliance.

The $6.4Billion (US$31M) project involves the rehabilitation of pavements, construction of bridges, culverts and a pedestrian overhead walkway at North Ruimveldt, along with traffic and drainage upgrades.