Contractor blames CEMCO for design flaws that crippled $1.4B Port Kaituma Stelling
(Kaieteur News) – Contractor, Parmeshwar Jagmohan has blamed design flaws by engineering firm Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants Inc. (CEMCO) for the structural failures that halted construction of the G$1.4 billion Port Kaituma Stelling, saying the defects emerged just two weeks before the facility was due for completion and forced work to stop.
Jagmohan, head of International Import and Supplies, explained that structural defects have emerged before the facility was set to be completed. “We found some snapping by the tie rod, and we informed the ministry, everything came to an abrupt halt,” Jagmohan said. Subsequent investigations by the Ministry of Public Works, the Transport and Harbours Department, and independent consultants exonerated the contractor after tie-rod samples sent to Canada for strength testing confirmed that the materials met exact contract specifications.
Parmeshwar Jagmohan
Instead, multi-party evaluations exposed critical flaws in CEMCO’s initial design, including incomplete site research. “There were many errors from the consultant’s side. We had many meetings and they did accept, it was their fault,” Jagmohan revealed. He pointed out that soil testing was performed exclusively on land, leaving the underwater foundation completely unexamined.
“Only the drill hole was only done on land and a mirror that to suit the water, which is the river,” he noted, adding that his company has since refused to work further with CEMCO due to a total loss of confidence.
Opposition Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul also levelled heavy criticism against the project’s execution, stating that the stelling was structurally compromised long before ground was broken. “Imagine trying to build a house on soft mud instead of solid ground. No matter how well you build it, it will eventually start to sink or fail. That is essentially what happened here,” Mahipaul said. He argued that the contractor simply built according to the drawings provided, while the engineering firm failed to properly investigate the “Log Pond” site, a former sawmill filled with buried timber waste and unstable mud.
Current state of the Port Kaituma stelling
Mahipaul further highlighted that steel anchor piles were never driven deep enough to reach firm ground, while an oversized concrete retaining wall and excessive backfill placed unbearable strain on the structure. “The supports failed. Some of the steel tie rods snapped under the pressure, causing sections of the retaining wall to collapse,” Mahipaul explained. He went on to question why CEMCO continues to receive major public works contracts, including oversight of the national Gas-to-Energy transmission and substations network, despite what he described as serious engineering failures at Port Kaituma.
The structural failure at Port Kaituma has carried tragic real-world consequences for hinterland commuters. The government’s US$12.7 million vessel, the MV Ma Lisha, acquired from India in April 2023 specifically to service Region One, has been unable to make its maiden voyage to Port Kaituma because the berth remains unusable. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill previously admitted to severe soil movement at the site, explaining that “we have built out the wharf for that boat to berth and everybody in the area knows there was significant movement of the soil and we had to break out a whole section and have it reconstructed.”
Edghill sparked further outrage by claiming that prior to the tragedy, the 87-year-old MV Barima was the preferred vessel for residents, a statement critics slammed as tone-deaf given that citizens had no other mode of river transport. Following the fatal capsizing of the aging vessel on 18th July, public grief across Guyana has transformed into relentless weekly demonstrations demanding Edghill’s immediate resignation.
Conducting a recent site visit alongside former Member of Parliament Ronald Cox, Shadow Public Works Minister Sherod Duncan confirmed that active construction at the stelling remains at a complete standstill. “The unfinished Stelling cannot now be separated from the tragedy of 18th July,” Duncan declared. “Had Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill ensure proper planning, competent engineering, rigorous supervision and timely completion of this project, that dependence could have ended before tragedy struck. That connection demands investigation and accountability at the highest level of the ministry.”
Alliance For Change (AFC) acting leader David Patterson joined the call for state accountability, framing the project as a textbook example of taxpayer-funded mismanagement. Duncan and Patterson are demanding the immediate public release of all engineering and geotechnical reports, contract variations, and payment records related to the stelling, alongside an independent, fleet-wide seaworthiness inspection of every state-passenger vessel. As public demonstrations outside the Office of the President continue to grow, opposition leaders maintain that ministerial responsibility must be enforced for the families who lost loved ones and for the citizens of Region One.
Source: Kaieteur News
