The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE severely expensive and lengthy New Providence road works project is expected to reach completion well under its additional $77 million budget, according to Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis.  

Last year, in addition to $12 million in public funds, the government borrowed $65 million from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) to tie off the road works. 

However, Mr Davis told reporters yesterday at the opening of the IDB’s Water and Sanitation Division Workshop that careful monitoring of the project had ensured the finishing touches did not surpass the budget.

“We are keeping within our budget,” Mr Davis said, “in fact we expect to be below budget. I am talking about the budget that I met and I embraced and attempted to keep everything within. I can safely say that we are within the budget and are likely to come out beneath.”

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister said the works, which have in total cost taxpayers around $206 million, are substantially complete although crews are in the process of carrying out final work.

“(They are) tying in the side streets, doing the side walks and the gully pots and making sure the drainage and the surface of the roads are levelled. So those are the minor works that are going on. 

“We are monitoring the road for defects because there is what they call a defect liability period of one year. (It) expires in January of next year so if anything goes wrong in terms of shoddy work we would call on the contractor (Jose Cartellone) to have those fixed. 

“So we are taking over most of the road now and ensuring that those additional works are complete.”

Last October, the PLP questioned whether the former government ran into unforeseen challenges while the works were underway after an IDB report failed to document some expenditure.

Since it was concluded that there would be cost over-runs, former Works Minister Neko Grant insisted that construction crews were forced to battle leaky water and sewage pipes and other underground complications, among other things.

But State Finance Minister Michael Halkitis noted that IDB officials said in their report that they found no evidence that large sums of money has been spent in that regard.

“In this table, there is a line that says water and sewage contingency and next to that there is a zero,” he said.

The Public Accounts committee also made several suggestions of how funds could be saved, but none of the advice was taken or enacted, Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder said.