Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says his government needs EC$55 million for road repairs, in addition to the EC$125 million it borrowed from Taiwan last year.
This is despite expenditures of $27,617,801.48 and $36,195,501.77, respectively, in 2023 and 2024, based on what Works Minister Montgomery Daniel told Parliament.
Responding to a question from East Kingstown MP, Fitz Bramble, an opposition lawmaker, Daniel told Parliament that the National Road Rehabilitation Project (NRRP) budgetary allocation for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 was $27 million and $40,824,450, respectively.
He pointed out that $63,813,303.25 has been spent on the project since its commencement in 2023.
Speaking on NBC Radio, Gonsalves gave an update on the roads that have been done and the reasons for some of the delays.
He said the NRRP was intended to complete 16 miles of road through 15 work contracts “amounting to about nearly $100 million”.
The prime minister said there were four lots, with Lot 4 yet to be touched.
“There are several roads under each lot, and these are really to rehabilitate secondary roads throughout St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” Gonsalves said.
He said the value of the work certified to date was just over $52 million or 53% of the budgeted works.
“The engineers estimate that the progress for the construction is about 65%. I’m not satisfied with the pace, but there are many a limitation — contractors, materials, labourers,” the prime minister said.
He said that as of the middle of March, about 17 roads are either complete or substantially complete.
These are: Man o’ War, Magum, Peruvian Vale, Belvidere Bridge and approach road, Canouan Coast Guard Base Road, three pieces of roads in Chapmans, Langley Park Village Roads, Cotton Ground Road, Barrymore and Welcome roads, Roseau Bottom and Crosslink Roads and a piece of Road in Plan, Lowmans.
Lot 1 includes Belair Middle Road, which is under construction, Calliaqua internal roads, Colonarie subdivision roads, Grand Sable Estate Road, Keartons Community Road, and Mt Pleasant and Free Land, where works are ongoing.
“Some of these roads, they’ve had a variance on some of them because they’ve added more money to do the work which is required to be done,” the prime minister said.
He said the Taiwanese firm Overseas Engineering & Construction Co. (OECC) is the contractor for most of the roads in Lot 1, but they have a lot of subcontractors.
In Lot 2, BRAGSA, a state-owned company, has 14 sets of roads and has begun work on nine of them, the prime minister said, noting that BRAGSA also has subcontractors.
Work is ongoing on the following roads:
Sandy Bay Housing Development Project Road, Noel Road at the housing development project, South Windward Coastal Works (including the realignment at Shipping Bay) Hackshaw Bank realignment in Marriqua, the Windward Highway in Diamond near Mayah Suites, Belvedere Bridge and approach road, Johnny Hill Link Road, Cumberland Playing field and Coconut Range.
“But there’s some roads which haven’t started yet,” Gonsalves said.
He mentioned Dorsetshire Hill Road, adding, “They’re waiting on materials they tell me, Hermitage, Spring Village Road — they have a wide difference between themselves and between BRAGSA and the subcontractor.”
Gonsalves said he had met with the parties and told them that he wanted them to come to a conclusion on price by the end of last week.
“Then there’s some roads in La Pompe in Bequia; they’re not started yet, but they should be started shortly. And then the Charles Village and Petit Bordel roads, they haven’t started, but those are easy roads to get done.”
In Lot 3, there are some roads where a lot more work needs to be done, Gonsalves said.
“The Green Hill-Fenton Road and the Twenty Hill Road, the Buccament Bay Polyclinic-Baystones Road, the Edinboro Road — Edinburgh to Avenue Road and Edinboro to Bandy Waist Road — and Diamond Freedom Road that also started. That’s a big one, that’s about $14 million, almost $15 million.”
He also mentioned the Barrouallie to Capitol Hill, and Barrouallie LRC to Pierre Hughes Preschool roads.
“Now, for the roads in the fourth package, we have had to do some adjustments. Some of the roads are over-designed,” the prime minister said.
He, however, said the government has given the green light on five of these roads.
“… the scope of works for the Questelles Piece Road in South Rivers has to be altered. That should start shortly. Simon Bridge Road, the Diamond Community Road, Bellvedere Bay Street and the Indian Bay Community Road,” Gonsalves said.
“For what we are going to do, … rather than do a lot of the roads with the extent of the design, huge design …, in the interest of time, we’re going to speed up here, that we are locating over $8 million for the secondary road for BRAGSA to do some patching and another $15 million or so for another entity, another company, to do just some paving in some parts,” the prime minister said.
“But because of the overrun in some areas, amended scope of works and the like, and to do some of this additional stuff which we’re talking about, we need, the estimate is about $55 million more.
“So, it’s my responsibility to find that. But there are challenges with the number of contractors you have who doing the work.”
Gonsalves also said there was a challenge with aggregate and asphalt.