Kamla insists Govt being dishonest with Tobago airport figures

  • Dec, Fri, 2024

Senior Reporter

dareece.polo@guardian.co.tt

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has maintained the Government is being dishonest about its expenditure on the ANR Robinson International Airport project. She directly challenged Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s recent claim that cost overruns amounted to only US$2.5 million (TT$16.9 million), asserting the true figure was significantly higher at TT$431 million.

To support her position, Persad-Bissessar presented screenshots of what she claimed was a Cabinet Minute, No. 2199, dated November 28, 2024, which reportedly approved increased expenditure for the project. The document, she stated, was accompanied by five appendices:

1) The Mott MacDonald Report

2) The Gleeds Schedule Report

3) The Gleeds Budget Report (dated November 23, 2024)

4) The NIDCO Claims Assessment Report

5) A Legal Report

“It is amazing that the minister pretended to not know about these reports when, in fact, he brought the note to Cabinet with these reports attached and got it approved,” Persad-Bissessar said.

She cited specific details from the Gleeds Budget Report, claiming that page 12 highlighted the need for an additional TT$348,140,666.04 to complete the project by March 2025. Of this, she said, TT$175,370,417.71 is allocated for overruns due to variations and claims.

Persad-Bissessar provided the following monthly expenditure breakdown:

November: TT$124,997,357.92

December: TT$85,262,877.12

January: TT$96,604,487.64

February: TT$37,940,648.62

March: TT$3,335,294.74

She further claimed that page 14 of the same report estimated the project’s total cost overrun at US$67.91 million (approx TT$461,792,690), including claims submitted by the contractor.

Persad-Bissessar alleged that Appendix 4 of the NIDCO claims assessment document provided evidence of design flaws and failure to meet building specifications and codes.

“How can Minister Imbert not know about these documents showing massive cost overruns and construction failures, when he himself brought them to Cabinet in note 2199 only last week on the 28th of November 2024?” she asked.

Persad-Bissessar also criticised Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for not being present at the post-Cabinet media conference, saying, “It was telling that Rowley hid like a coward today and sent Imbert to mislead the country but found time to do a presser to justify his $50 million for feteing and increasing his salary.”

Persad-Bissessar referenced earlier reports, including a December 2023 assessment by Mott MacDonald, which she said identified the project as being 26 per cent over budget. She also claimed that Gleeds had previously projected TT$175 million in variations and claims extending into 2025.

“So how can the project now only be US$2.5 million over budget?” she questioned.

While Persad-Bissessar provided screenshots of the alleged Cabinet Note and accompanying reports, Guardian Media was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the documents.

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