Sinanan tells Moonilal: Don’t ruin Govt efforts to recover money for highway collapse

KEVON FELMINE

Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinanan, has urged citizens to take note of who truly has their best interests at heart. This came as he accused Oropouche East MP, Dr Roodal Moonilal, of attempting to undermine the Government’s efforts to recover money from those responsible for the failed section of the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension to Point Fortin, specifically along Mosquito Creek.

Speaking in the House of Representatives during his contribution to the Appropriation (Financial Year-2025) Bill on Wednesday, Sinanan responded to claims made by Moonilal, who had blamed the Government for the road’s collapse.

On Tuesday, Moonilal, while addressing the House, read from a report that attributed the highway’s failure to cost-cutting measures initiated by Government. He claimed that changes to the project’s original design were responsible for the collapse.

Moonilal explained that infrastructure consultants AECOM issued For Construction Drawings to the contractor that differed from the original designs, which treated both carriageways identically. According to him, the revisions removed crucial elements, such as wick drains, a decision he suggested was made to make the cost lower than what it was under the People’s Partnership administration.

“When we demitted office in 2016, they made a change to the design in 2018. They removed the wick drains, which caused a crack, a failure, a fissure, and considerable lateral movement,” Moonilal said.

However, Sinanan strongly refuted those claims. He pointed out that the same report Moonilal referenced made it clear that the project was done under a design-build contract, and that it was, in fact, a design failure.

“The records show we had an original designer, and now we have another designer. They have indemnity, professional insurance. If they are found to be at fault, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, as the client, can pursue them for damages,” Sinanan explained.

He went on to criticise Moonilal’s comments, claiming they could weaken the Government’s case if legal action became necessary.

“But what the Minister (Moonilal) did yesterday was that he came in the Parliament and declared it is the Government’s fault, the Government told them do not do this and take out that to cut the cost, giving whoever we have to go after ammunition to fight us in the court,” he said.

Sinanan added that Moonilal’s comments seemed like a deliberate attempt to prevent the Government from recovering money from those responsible for the road’s failure. Sinanan said Moonilal would have seen in the report that the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) had recommended legal action against the parties at fault.

“Today, I condemn that action. It is irresponsible, and the people of Trinidad and Tobago need to see who is really looking out for them. If there is a clause that allows us to claim damages through indemnity insurance, we will pursue it. If we need to take this to court, like we did to recover the $1 billion they tried to stop us from getting, we will go to court. Do not ruin our chances here in Parliament,” Sinanan urged.

The Cabinet’s Finance and General Purposes Committee is now reviewing a revised construction budget for Package 5A, which could increase from $333 million to $398 million. The repairs, according to the report Moonilal shared on Facebook, would cost approximately $64.29 million.

The report, titled CAF Geotechnical Review of the Failure (January 2022) between STA 5+300 and STA 5+400 (Northbound) and Remediation Proposal for the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension to Point Fortin, was prepared by Uriel and Associates. It indicated that design flaws in the construction of Package 5A led to the failure along the northbound lane.

The report detailed that a longitudinal crack first appeared on January 18, 2022, and by January 23, the embankment had completely failed.

“The crack had become a fissure, with a drop of about 1200 mm along the western edge. There was considerable lateral movement of the embankment, seawall, and revetment towards the sea. The damage was significant, raising concerns about the root cause, appropriate remediation measures, and whether a similar failure could occur even after repairs.”

Following the incident, AECOM activated its geotechnical team to investigate, while NIDCO brought in Earth Investigation Systems Limited (EISL) for an independent review. The Government, through the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, also arranged for a peer review of the geotechnical information and proposed remediation measures.

The investigation concluded that the failure was due to design errors.

“The failure was due to design errors and not flawed construction,” the report stated.

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