Sinanan: Kublalsingh spreading fake news on Debe project

Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan has rubbished claims made by Highway Reroute Movement (HRM) leader, Dr Wayne Kublalsingh, that work had resumed along the Debe to Mon Desir Highway.

On Saturday morning, Sinanan alongside his technical team from the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) – engineering and programme management vice-president Steve Garibsingh, Nidco project manager Dennis Harricharan and ministry officials Navin Ramsingh and Chatram Sookal – sought to clear the air on the recent allegations made by the activist. Sinanan also opted to debunk additional claims directed at the Prime Minister, that he was responsible for recent flooding which ravaged Debe and environs over the past two weeks.

Following the 2016 termination of the highway’s previous contractor, OAS, completion of the Debe to Mon Desir Highway has been on hold. The ministry has since been able to recover $940 million from OAS, but must now use these finds to complete the concrete work OAS was contracted to do.

Speaking on-site at the incomplete Oropouche River Bridge, Sinanan explained, “Based on the Arbitration Court in London, we are bounded and obligated to complete certain works on the bridge and in no way, we can breach an agreement at that level. We have not restarted and are currently protecting the bridge’s infrastructure. We are here to clarify this misinformation that was placed in the public domain by Mr Wayne Kublalsingh.”

Garibsingh agreed and said the bridge was one of the projects that had to be done.

“When the arbitration exercise begun, we were obligated to protect the works that were already completed; a good example is the Oropouche River Bridge. We do not want it deteriorating and funds going to waste. We are doing no other roadworks in this area,” he said.

Harricharan, who has been the site’s project engineer since inception, said the current objective is to complete the highway from Dumfries to Dunlop (Point Fortin) and another connector road from Dumfries Road to Fyzabad.

“The total length of highway we are pursuing is 29.5km and our focus is in Dumfries to Dunlop and the expected date of completion by late 2020, early 2021. This is the extent of our exercise for this point in time and we have broken them up into 12 packages and all are under construction,” Harricharan stated.

On Kublalsingh’s claims that the Prime Minister was responsible for the flooding in the Penal/Debe area because of the construction of the bridge’s berm, Sinanan said the activist was being “unfair”.

“Dr Kublalsingh claimed that it was the building of the berm here that was responsible for the flooding. Misinformation! That berm was built before 2015. If he wants to make these allegations, he knows fully well who he has to make them to. When the government changed in 2015, no work was restarted in this area up to now.”

Ramsingh, the acting chief technical officer, also affirmed that the flooding would not have been as a result of the Oropouche River Bridge.

He said, “This particular structure is wider than the existing bridge so there’s no way this structure could be contributing to flooding in this area. The design was done for a storm return period and runoff (water), much higher than the river. It will not contribute to flooding once it is completed.”