Several weeks after high tides caused flooding at Maracas Bay, the popular tourist attraction remains in a deplorable condition. Already an eyesore due to incomplete upgrade works, visitors to the beach, including tourists, have been complaining about the stench and the poor condition of the washrooms.
Among those complaining was Terri Sheed, of the United Kingdom, who is in T&T on vacation.
"It is horrific. What is all this?" she asked, pointing to incomplete concrete structures.
"Do we need all of this on the beach? All this has spoiled lovely Maracas Bay. Carnival is coming up and here is a total mess. It is very disappointing. They have completely wrecked the beach."
Sheed added: "The toilet facilities . . . you can't get soap and the doors can't even close in properly and lock, not to mention that you have to pay to use the toilet facilities. The government should really be embarrassed."
John Brown, of England, a first time visitor, said his initial reaction when he got to Maracas Bay was: "How on earth do we get around all this (referring to the fencing that barricades the construction sites on the beach) to the beach."
His friend, Michael Asker, also from England, who has been a regular visitor to T&T since 1968, called for upgrades to the facility to be completed quickly.
"It is a wonderful beach, an idyllic spot, but people visiting the beach need proper facilities, including good bathroom facilities," he said.
President of the Maracas Bay Vendors Association, Festus Imasekha, who operates two bake and shark booths, said vendors "lose tremendously" whenever the facility floods. He said on an average day during the week, the 28 food vendors at the facility earn $1,500, while on weekends and public holidays that figure increases to $5,000.
"When the tides are high we are forced to close and our businesses are affected because of the flooding. I was forced to help out the situation by renting a pump to have the water pumped out and that cost me $500 a day," he said.
Imasekha said he was told by an official at the Tourism Development Company that he will not be compensated because no one told him to do that.
"But if they are not doing anything about the situation we have to try and help out ourselves because we are the ones losing out," he said.
Imasekha said he hopes the construction work is completed in quick time as it is creating a safety and health hazard, not for the vendors but beach goers and visitors as well.
Contacted for comment, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan yesterday confirmed that tenders for completion of upgrades to the facility were closed last Thursday. He added that Nidco officials did an evaluation exercise over the weekend and he will be meeting with them to discuss their findings.
Sinanan and Finance Minister Colm Imbert recently made an impromptu visit to the facility and spoke with vendors and beachgoers. He said the flooding problem was caused by human error.
"There is a pump at the back of the facility that is not functioning in the way it should so we have tried to put something in place so that once rain starts to fall the pump comes on in time to have the water pumped out. There was also no run off for the food huts and that contributed to the flooding issues as well," he said.
"We would like the works to get started as soon as possible and before the rainy season kicks in."
Upgrades stalled since 2015
In 2009, Cabinet approved $233 million for the Maracas Beach Redesign and Restoration Project. The Tourism Development Company, through the Ministry of Tourism, was given the mandate to manage the project and the Beijing Liujian Construction Corporation won an international tender to provide design and build services.
On June 8, 2014, the People's Partnership government awarded Kallco the project at a cost of $85 million plus VAT and contingency.
In July 2015, then Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a revised figure of $120 million down from the $233 million that has been approved by the previous administration.
Following the General Elections in September 2015, Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe took concerns about the project to Cabinet and the matter was referred to the Office of the Attorney General for review. Kallco's contract was subsequently terminated and the matter is now proceeding to arbitration.
T&T Guardian understands that a re-tendering process in three distinct work packages is expected to deal with road works, the car park and related civil works, construction of vending booths, washrooms and other facilities and upgrade of the sewer treatment plant.