The EC$600 million seaport being built in Kingstown is now scheduled to be completed in August, three months later than initially scheduled.
Minister of Seaports Senator Benarva Browne told Parliament on Thursday that the delay resulted from the impact of Hurricane Beryl on July 1 last year.
She did not say anything about the likely impact of the loss of reclamation material because of a decoupling of metal sheets, which Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has confirmed.
However, on Tuesday opposition spokesperson on public works, Daniel Cummings, accused the government of trying to “cover up” the reality at the project site.
“… I just want to let our people know that no mind the feeble attempt to cover up the catastrophe, the truth will be exposed, and will soon be exposed,” the West Kingstown MP said on the opposition New Democratic Party’s radio programme on NICE Radio.
“That’s all I want to say at this point in time, but what’s happening there is frightening, to say the least, and more will come,” Cummings said.
During Thursday’s meeting of Parliament, Opposition Leader Godwin Friday noted that lawmakers approved hundreds of millions of dollars to construct the port, which was projected to be completed by May 2025.
He asked Browne to say the cost of the project; the amount of money spent so far; whether the government had sufficient funds to complete the project; and, if not, how much more would be needed to finish it.
Browne said active construction work on the port began on May 12, 2022, with a baseline completion date of May 12, 2025.
“However, this baseline completion date has been extended to the 31st of August 2025 due to the impacts of the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2022,” the senator said.
“In terms of the total broad budget and the cost of the project, the baseline funding amount for the project was US$247.3 million, or EC$666.8 million.”
Browne said EC$526.5 million has been spent on the project as of the end of January 2025.
She said the government has allocated EC$92.5 million toward the project this year.
“As of today, the government can fulfil its financial obligations as we stand today,” she told Parliament.
“However, given the nature of construction, things can vary and things can change. We are closely tracking our expenses and if additional funding is required, the government will arrange to supplement it accordingly.”
However, Friday asked whether the EC$92.5 million includes not just the construction, but essentially making the port operational.
Browne said that was the case.
On Wednesday, one day after a post appeared on social media, Gonsalves confirmed that some of the material used in the reclamation for the construction of the port was lost because of a declutching of the sheet piles.
He said on NBC Radio that the issue came to light during dredging to achieve the design debt in front of the quay wall.
The prime minister said that Aecon, the Canadian firm contracted to build the port, is pursuing an industry-standard solution, but the timeline for the remedial work was not yet established.