SHALIZA HASSANALI
Residents of several communities throughout T&T who have been forced to hit the streets in protest by burning tyres and throwing debris to show their disgust over the deplorable conditions are being given the assurance that they can expect some degree of relief in the coming weeks. This is as the Government has pumped in $200 million for road works in a newly-formed company–the Secondary Road Rehabilitation and Improvement Company Ltd (SRRIC).
Chairman of the SRRIC Herbert George gave the guarantee during an interview with the Sunday Guardian last week that the road repairs will be undertaken, but said "it’s not going to be overnight". All the roads will not be done at the same time, however, as projects will be prioritised based on the severity of the conditions.
Last week Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan assured that $450 million is now available to repair secondary roads across the country–$200 million allocated to the SRRIC and $250 million allocated to PURE.
And, according to the 2023 Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) document, the sum of $995.3 million will be invested for the continued enhancement of the country's road network.
The poor conditions of the roads have led to communities staging fiery public protests while there has been an outpouring of complaints from motorists about ruptured tyres and broken parts costing thousands of dollars to repair their vehicles after driving into potholes, craters and deep depressions. Residents and motorists have also been complaining that some roads have been falling apart within a short space of time after being repaired and that the poor quality work is unacceptable.
Herbert George Nidco Chairman
Denying that the SRRIC was established to funnel money into the pockets of selected contractors, George in an interview on Wednesday promised there will be no room for corruption under his stewardship.
"That is total foolishness. Herbert George is a proud black man."
George said he has served this country with distinction for decades and his name was never involved in corruption.
"And I don’t want any ill-gotten gains. So, in terms of corruption that is just wishful thinking. That is the brush we paint everything with…corruption, corruption, corruption. But that, I can assure you, will be far from this new company under which I preside."
He said no one can accuse him of mismanaging taxpayers’ dollars as chairman of the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) which has been one of the State's executing agency for developmental projects.
"I have no desire or intention of doing that now. My name is good."
Last month, George and five directors–Shazim Mohammed, Lincoln Anthony, Debra James, Wendell Seecharan and Neville Adam–were presented with their letters of appointment to the SRRIC's board by Minister of Rural Development and Local Government (RDLG) Faris Al-Rawi.
The company is operating at the ministry’s headquarters at Kent House, Maraval.
The mandate
George said the mandate of the SRRIC was to identify critical roads for repair and ensure "taxpayers get value for money and contractors deliver high-quality work within the agreed budget and time".
The company, he said, will also enhance, improve and ensure consistent road accessibility and connectivity throughout the $4 billion road network as well as innovate and develop solutions for higher-quality roads that will last longer for road users.
George said when faulty or shoddy work is detected, "We will have recourse with the contractor/s."
Following the SRRIC’s incorporation in June, the company was allocated $100 million to carry out much-needed secondary road repairs. Delivering the 2023 budget on Monday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert provided the company with an additional $100 million to undertake rehabilitation works on secondary roads, stating that they "expect the company to use these funds proactively" in carrying out their functions.
In August Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley stated that Cabinet had approved the wholly owned state enterprise. Acknowledging the need to improve the poor conditions of our roads, the PM said Imbert would make funding available to the company and contractors would be mobilised to fix the roads.
'No quick fix'
At least 80 per cent of the country’s road network is secondary roads. The Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT) is responsible for the paving of highways and main roads only.
George was unable to ascertain what percentage of these roads are in dire need of rehabilitation, but they have already asked the executing agencies involved in road repairs/paving such as the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, the Programme for Upgrading Road Efficiency (PURE), the Rural Development Company and 14 regional corporations to provide a list of the deteriorating roads they have been unable to handle.
The SRRIC has been gathering information from these entities to start work on short, medium and long-term projects.
George described repairing potholes as "the low hanging fruit", while some roads would require assessment and detailed work due to landslips, lack of retaining structures, soil instability, poor drainage and leaks as a result of ruptured pipelines.
Admitting that SRRIC has a lot of work ahead of them, George said there will be no quick fix to improve these deteriorating roads many of which lacked maintenance.
"We are not very good at maintaining anything in Trinidad and Tobago…not only roads. We are actively building out the company now and while we are doing that, we want to get two or three projects going."
The SRRIC chairman could not say how many contractors will benefit from this $200 million road rehabilitation programme.
However, he assured, "there will be no sole select tendering". Only prequalified contractors who are in PURE and RDC’s database will be considered.
"We are not going to drag a person out and make them a contractor. You would have had to be in the business before…you have a track record that is there. You must have experience and, on that basis, you would have been given prequalification to do similar work by those other bodies."
Alexander Ramdass, left, looks on as another resident fills a hole along the Digity Link Road in Barrackpore, earlier this year.
RISHI RAGOONATH
Shortages of bitumen being worked out
George was asked about the shortage of bitumen in T&T.
He said this was engaging the attention of the Government and the agencies involved.
With the closure of Petrotrin’s refinery, George pointed out that the country no longer has a supply of bitumen.
“They (Petrotrin) used to supply the bitumen to Trinidad Lake Asphalt (TLA).”
Now TLA has to import the bitumen to satisfy our needs, George said. T&T, he said, like many other countries, would face supply chain issues from time to time.
“So, you have these temporary shortages. But that is being addressed by the Government and TLA.”
George said the Government was looking to import larger quantities of the mixture and increase their storage capacity to prevent further hiccups.
George said that soon the RDLG will launch an app for citizens to report bad roads using their mobile devices.
The app will upload the coordinates of the road and everything will be dealt with from that point. "We will also be encouraging the public to send pictures of poor roads through an app that we plan to roll out by the middle of October.”
Al-Rawi: SRRIC will spend money as quickly as it can
Saying that the board has a dynamic bunch of individuals, Al-Rawi added that he expects a lot of good work to be done under George's leadership.
The board will report to Al-Rawi.
Al-Rawi said the Government had to redirect resources and priorities during the pandemic.
“We just did not have the space or opportunity to do what we are now doing before. As much as people don’t want to hear that, that is the reality of the situation. You had to first feed the people before you fix the wall or the road outside. As quickly as people may forget those vicious realities we had to face."
Now that the country is easing itself out of the pandemic, Al-Rawi said, the focus will be placed on our roads.
Asked if the $200 million will be sufficient to improve the road network, Al-Rawi said it was a start.
“From my perspective, the company will spend money as quickly as it can within procurement parameters and value for money considerations. We will keep our eyes on the request from the Ministry of Finance.”
BOX
$672 million utilised in 2022 for new and ongoing roadworks
To improve the road network, Imbert also disclosed in his fiscal 2023 package that “additional allocations have also been provided for the 14 municipal corporations” to undertake road rehabilitation.
“We have just raised a further $250 million in loan financing for PURE for use in fiscal 2023. This level of funding will ensure that proper attention can now be paid to road repairs and rehabilitation in 2023.”
Under the sub-heading “roads and bridges” in the 2023 PSIP 295-page document released by the Ministry of Planning and Development, it stated that the Government continued to invest in roads and bridges with a provision of $493.5 million in fiscal 2022. “The allocation was subsequently revised to $681.1 million of which $671.9 million was utilised for new and ongoing works to improve the road network.”
Under the PURE unit, the PSIP document listed 107 sectional road rehabilitation projects costing $164.7 million that were undertaken in 2022.
A breakdown of projects showed:
*$57.3 million was spent on 37 major road rehabilitation/road construction projects
*$20 million was injected into 22 rehabilitation of secondary roads, minor roads, agricultural and forestry access roads projects
*$42.9 million was expended on 36 pothole patching, spot paving sectional rehabilitation of critical roadways projects
*$22.8 million went towards 10 projects construction of the Moruga Highway (Moruga Road Upgrade) project
*$21.7 million pumped into two projects at the San Fernando Waterfront project (widening of Lady Hailes) San Fernando.
It also revealed that “14 regional corporations received releases totalling $60.2 million to undertake 335 road rehabilitation projects which included milling and paving, bridge repairs, construction of culverts and drains and restoration of landslips”.
Also, the sum of $39 million was utilised for the continuation of construction of the Valencia to Toco Road project which is 82 per cent complete.
Construction of the Diego Martin overpass which is 47 per cent complete incurred an expenditure of $34.1 million, while ongoing construction of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway Extension to Manzanilla cost $76.4 million.
BOX
$995 million to be invested in roads, bridges in 2023
Part two of the PSIP document stated that “in fiscal 2023 the sum of $995.3 million will be invested in the continued enhancement of the road network”.
MOWT will be allocated $110 million for the implementation of the major construction/major road rehabilitation programme by the PURE unit.
“The funds will be utilised to conduct major road rehabilitation works, landslip repairs and reconstruction of bridges as well as the completion of the pedestrian overpass at Lady Hailes Avenue.”
Also, $80 million will be allocated to the landslips repair programme to deal with San Francique and Arima-Blanchisseuse Roads in phase one, while phase two listed eight roads and one highway.
An investment of $20 million will be provided to the PURE unit for the continuation of the construction of the Moruga Highway Project.
To remedy the effects of the ageing road infrastructure, the document stated that the PURE unit will continue rehabilitation work under two programmes- 1) the rehabilitation of secondary roads, minor roads, agriculture and forestry access roads with an allocation of $15 million and 2) pothole patching, spot patching and sectional rehabilitation of critical roadway programme with an allocation of $75 million.
“In addition, the ministry of RDLG will be provided with a total provision of $136.5 million to undertake road rehabilitation works, minor slope stabilisation measures, pavement reinstatement and repairs to local bridges.”
It stated that the expansion of the nation’s road network allows for a greater flow of traffic in growth areas of the country.
“Government will continue to invest in the construction of the new roadways through the following initiatives:
*Construction of Valencia to Toco Road will continue with an allocation of $55 million.
*Continued construction of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway Extension to Manzanilla with an investment of $75 million.
*The MOWT will launch connectivity on the new highway segments of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin in fiscal 2023. The sum of $170 million will be provided for the completion of seven work packages.
*The sum of $48 million will be provided for the completion of the vehicular overpass as well as road improvement works in Diego Martin