The government may have to dish out less money than expected to complete the corrective work identified for the New Providence Road Improvement Program (NPRIP), Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said recently.
Davis announced in the House of Assembly in May that the government will have to spend as much as $3.8 million to replace leaking underground fittings used in the NPRIP and to repave the affected roads.
But Davis said earlier this week that the final price tag is expected to be much lower and the government may not even be required to pay.
"I think because of the various options that we are examining to correct what we are discovering, it ranges anywhere from $300,000 to $3 million or $4 million, but from what I see going on, it may not pass that lower range of $300,000," he said.
Work began on the defective roads several weeks ago. Contractors have dug scores of trenches along Baillou Hill Road and Market Street.
Davis said that in 2010, the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) asked the Ministry of Works to replace laterals on existing water mains on several roads: Baillou Hill Road between Wulff Road and Duke Street; Market Street between Wulff Road and Duke Street; and on Baillou Hill Road South between Soldier Road and Carmichael Road.
"We are repairing those now," Davis said. "We are still in what they call a defective period. In this period, we look at what's right and what's wrong and where there are breaches and then that is being corrected.
"So during this defective liability period, we are having these corrections done. We have not yet determined liability but we have agreed to at least get these works started during this period and hopefully at the end of it all, when a determination is made, we will decide who will pay for it."
Davis previously lamented the fact that the government would have to pay more money for the already over-budget project, which he said has caused the public and businesses "hardship and inconvenience" over the past three years.
Explaining how the problems surface, Davis earlier explained that WSC specified and provided Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles (JCCC) with the fittings, which were 90 degree Talbot elbows. JCCC installed 214 laterals using the elbows provided by WSC.
In late 2012, officials noticed that some of the elbows had failed and caused leaks; Davis said that 19 elbows have failed so far.
He said that the Ingraham administration should assume responsibility for the failures since the materials were installed under the former government's watch.
"The manufacturer is standing by their product," Davis said. "A bad decision was made in the first place under their watch to acquire the 214 Talbot elbows to be used as laterals below the surface."
Davis said the manufacturer has submitted a report to the government which said that the elbows may not be suitable for the use that WSC recommended.

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