Technical team to meet tomorrow to discuss way forward on Conversation Tree project

President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Thursday inspected construction works on the Conversation Tree to Dennis Street four-lane road, where he announced that the technical team will be meeting with the Ministry of Public Works soon to discuss a way forward on the Conversation Tree to Dennis Street project in Georgetown.

The project was split into two lots, the first of which was executed by S. Jagmohan Construction and General Supplies Inc. The second phase was awarded to Trinidad company, Kallco Guyana Inc., which has been flagged on multiple occasions for poor performance.

It was recently reported that Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill has resolved to terminate the contract with Kallco.

During his visit, President Ali said that immediate drainage and irrigation works must be conducted on the incomplete portions of the project, to avoid flooding should the weather conditions take a turn.

“We have to do some D&I work here because I don’t want this remaining work to cost us. We have to make some decisions here,” the president said.

The project begins at the Conversation Tree corridor and is approximately 1.9 kilometres from the East Coast Demerara Highway, connecting to Dennis Street.

The construction of two large concrete bridges to establish a connection to Dennis Street is also part of the work.

During his visit, the president also engaged with youths in the area, who lamented that the ongoing roadworks have disrupted the construction of the nearby ballfield. In response, President Ali contacted the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson, who assured that work would restart immediately.

He committed to return to the community to engage with the youths.

President Ali was accompanied by Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, Head of the ministry’s Work Services Group, Ron Rahaman, and Senior Project Engineer, Kester Hinds.