Sinanan: Cabinet considering legal action on Mosquito Creek collapse

  • Sep, Wed, 2024

Senior Reporter

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan says there may be legal action as Cabinet deliberates on a report on the failed portion of the Archibald-DeLeon Highway.

But as the minister spoke to Guardian Media yesterday, he did not divulge what caused 180 metres of the northbound carriageway along Mosquito Creek, South Oropouche, to collapse on January 22, 2022. He said that because there were areas of the report that could spark litigation, he did not want to preempt the Cabinet’s decisions.

“Legal actions may be taken to recover where the fault really lies, so I have to be very careful as to what I put out at this point because the Government, definitely, will be looking at recovering any money. We have to explore that,” Sinanan said.

In May 2022, Sinanan announced in the Senate that an investigation was underway into the collapse, with the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) engaging its geotechnical consultant, Earth Investigation Limited and the CAF Development Bank for international experts to conduct an independent assessment.

Speaking yesterday, Sinanan recalled that following the collapse, NIDCO engaged local and international consultants to go through the process of determining what happened and what caused the failure and come up with solutions.

“The report is before the Cabinet, which entails both the cause of the failure and the solutions to the problem. So that is actually before the Cabinet for a decision on the way forward. I do not want to preempt the Cabinet, but it is before the Cabinet as we speak. I think shortly, the Cabinet will decide on the way forward,” he explained.

The Government opened the highway connecting San Fernando to Point Fortin in October 2023 with three incomplete portions at Mosquito Creek, Mon Desir, Fyzabad and Vance River, La Brea. The Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT) partially opened the Mon Desir Interchange two weeks ago.

Sinanan said he had not heard anyone speaking negatively about the highway, as it now takes motorists 20 minutes to drive between San Fernando and Point Fortin when it previously took over two hours.

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