Equipment formerly used for the construction of Argyle Airport, as well as its intended application in a comprehensive road repair initiative throughout St. Vincent and the Grenadines, will not proceed as previously pledged.
During a parliamentary session last Thursday, MP Montgomery Daniel expressed that all equipment and machinery possess a finite lifespan and following a thorough evaluation, a decision was reached to dismantle the stone crusher.
The government had made a commitment that following the inauguration of the airport in February 2017, the construction machinery will be utilised for an unprecedented scale of road repair across SVG.
“Approximately 20% of the equipment received from the IADC is currently in operation and is with BRAGSA. These include the grader, mack trucks, hamm roller, and paver.”
According to Daniel, an evaluation was conducted on the Shanghai Zenith stone crusher, revealing that an estimated amount of $400,000 USD was deemed necessary alone for the procurement of spare parts.
“Overall, it was in BRAGSA’s opinion that it was more economical to replace the stone crusher than to repair it. The dismantled parts are at BRAGSA’s cane hall location. The stone crusher is not operational, and the parts for the dismantled stone crusher are in BRAGSA custody”.
When asked if the stone crusher was sold to a private business person and is now located at a stone quarry in Central Leeward, Daniel replied that he is not aware of such. “I’m surprised, yeah, I’m really surprised,” Daniel said.
On Tuesday, September 12th, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Overseas Engineering and Construction Company (OECC) signed a contract for US$120 million (EC$324.3 million) in the cabinet room, signalling the start of the government’s National Road Rehabilitation Project.
