Georgetown: Construction of the Specialty Hospital at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara is expected to restart by the end of June. This is according to Minister of Finance Winston Jordan.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Fedders Lloyd and the Ministry of Finance provides that the Company would, review the works already started on the project and, conclude a design for the hospital before the award of the contract to complete construction of the hospital.
Addressing the press at the Ministry of Finance today, Minister Jordan explained that Fedders Lloyd is at the stage where the design for the hospital is almost complete. He said, after this, the two-sides will move to the next stage of drafting a contract for the building of the hospital. The Ministry is targeting the end of first quarter for construction to restart at the Hospital.
This will be the first time that there is a complete design for the Hospital. Minister Jordan explained that at the time when the contract with Surendra Engineering was terminated, the design for the hospital was only at about 20 percent complete.
Work on the Hospital was initially halted after allegations of impropriety and fraud were leveled against Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited (SECL) which was awarded the construction contract. The project was subsequently awarded, in late 2015, to Fedders Lloyd Country.
Minister Jordon explained that when the MOU was signed with Fedders Lloyd, the company had come with its own designs for the hospital but that this had to be altered to take account of the works already completed at the site of the hospital, (the driving of piles,) done by BK International which had been sub-contracted by SECL.
He pointed out that this was done so as not to lose the piles which were driven and the amount of money already spent.
“Fedders Lloyd had to go there (to the site), look at the configuration, bring their two engineers from India , then go back to India and try to put a design that would use if not all, then almost all of the piles that were driven,” he explained.
Minister Jordan explained that a technical consultant is reviewing the design which will be finalized shortly.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance is working on a parallel track to put together a contract, for Fedders Lloyd to execute the construction work. Jordan explained that the Ministry of Health has already written the tender board on the matter.
According to Jordan, the hospital would have to be completed with whatever monies remain out of the initial project sum after advance payments would have been made to Surendra Engineering.
The cost of the contract awarded to Surendra Engineering for the Hospital Construction was over US$18M. By the time of the termination of Surrendra’s Contract the company would have received over 20 percent of the contract price as an advance payment.
Following the termination of the contract, Government had moved to the Commercial Division of the High Court and sued Surendra claiming damages in excess of $100M, as well as special damages amounting to over US$4M.
Following a court judgment awarded January 23, 2015, Government is still to collect over US$4M from the embattled Indian firm.
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