Ministry takes control of Yarrowkabra Sec. School after contractor finally vacates

The Ministry of Education now has full control of the Yarrowkabra Secondary School site located on the Soesdyke Linden Highway. The Ministry was able to take control with the assistance of the police.

With the contractor, BK International Inc. finally vacating the site, the Ministry has also installed its own security and advised that any unauthorised person found removing materials from the site will be prosecuted accordingly.

The $826.7M contract, signed with BK International in January this year for the construction of the state of the art school, was terminated after an assessment found only 5% of the school was completed to date.
The school is intended to benefit some 600 children in Yarrowkabra and neighbouring communities along the Linden Highway. It was expected to be completed in March 2021 but now the school will not be finished in accordance with the contractual deadline.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand in recognising the slothful construction, engaged the company and requested a new work plan that would see it completing the school within the stipulated time.

The consultant on the project, Vikab Engineering Consultants Limited, had advised BK International to employ more persons to get the work done but this, among other suggestions, were unheeded. As such, the government was forced to terminate the contract with the company.

The company was informed of the termination on November 1, 2020 in a letter from Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.

In the said letter, the contractor was advised to remove all machinery and equipment from the site. But on November 10, a visit to the site revealed that the company was still progressing with works despite the contract being terminated.

In another letter dated November 11, which the consultancy firm wrote the Managing Director of BK International Inc, Mr. Brian Tiwarie informing him that pursuant to Clause 40.5 [Termination] “the contractor is to stop the works immediately, make the site safe and secure and leave the site as soon as reasonably possible.”

In that letter, the consultants instructed the contractor to stop works immediately and advised that any work done or materials ordered beyond the date of termination, November 1, 2020, is done at the contractor’s own risk.

Meanwhile, a final letter on November 19 from Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Alfred King instructed the company that all work must come to a halt with immediate effect and the project site be vacated within twenty-four hours. (Extracted and modified from the Department of Public Information)