Company that botched pump station project in Berbice awarded $393M contract for another one in Region 3
Oct 25, 2024
Kaieteur News – Yunas Civil and Building Construction Service, whose service was terminated from the Black Bush Polder pump station project in Region Six was handed a $393 million contract on Wednesday, this time to construct the A–Line pump station at Versailles, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board information revealing the award for the A-Line pump station project.
The construction site for the A-line pump station back in April this year. (Photo courtesy, Opposition Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul)
This is according to information presented by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office who through the project was awarded.
NPTAB on its website revealed that from the 14 contractors who submitted their bids for the construction of the A-Line pump station, it was Yunas Civil & Building Construction Service who was awarded the job for $393,490,350.
Kaieteur News had reported that the Ministry of Agriculture through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) had terminated the $978.7 million pump station contract by Yunas Civil and Building Construction Service for Black Bush Polder front-lands in September 2023 due to poor quality and performance. That project has since been retendered and is now being executed by Quality Deliverer for $799 million.
Meanwhile, it was previously reported that the Agriculture Ministry went out to tender for the A-Line pump station project since the initial $717 million contract was terminated earlier this year. Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha had told this newspaper that the contract has been terminated and the project halted due to non-performance by the contractor. The Minister explained that due to this set back, his ministry will restart the tender process in search of another contractor to complete the project.
It was published that following a national bidding process, the NPTAB in April 2022 awarded a $717,095,940 contract to contractor Civcon Engineering Contractors for the A-Line pump station project. The project was expected to be completed in June 2023.
With the delay in completion of the project, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul publicly highlighted the slothfulness of that project, among others.
“While he (Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha) made a show of visiting the Canal No. 1 pump station, conveniently ignoring its neighbouring A-Line station and Pouderoyen Pump Stations, the truth is clear: projects across the region languish in a state of abandonment and disrepair,” Mahipaul said in a statement back in April.
Responding to the Opposition MP, NDIA in a statement at the time stated that over the years, the Ministry and the NDIA crafted programmes aimed at delivering quality drainage and irrigation infrastructure across the country, especially in vulnerable areas. These efforts, however, have been met with challenges as, oftentimes, the NDIA encountered contractors who have underperformed.
The Authority had further disclosed that these instances have been and are being addressed on a case-by-case basis. In some instances, the NDIA applied liquidated damages to contractors who have not been able to complete projects according to the contractual time period, the statement disclosed.
“In the case of the A-Line pump station, the contractor has not been able to complete the project on time. As a result, liquidated damages are now being applied. The NDIA had noted that the contractor demobilised several pieces of equipment from the site. As such, the NDIA had notified the insurance company providing bonds on the project, and a file on the current situation had been sent to the Office of the Attorney General for advice on the way forward,” NDIA said back in April.
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