KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
As the rains beat down this week threatening landslides and flash floods, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan says work on the Mandingo landslip may begin next week Monday.
The massive landslip in Indian Walk, Princes Town, developed last August, destroying the Ali family' home.
Unusual dry season rains further damaged two other homes, cracking walls and crumbling their yards.
Another family cannot leave their home with their vehicles as the landslip eroded the road in front of their house. The long wait for repairs led to a fiery protest last month, when residents called on the Ministry to reallocate resources from a landslip repair project along the Moruga Road to the slippage on Mandingo and Lengua roads.
Sinanan told Guardian Media that the tender evaluation is completed and the ministry expects the contractor to be on site by Monday. He said the work will include the installation of gabion baskets, the construction of a retaining wall and the rehabilitation to the road to allow connectivity between the Moruga Road and St Croix Road.
The ministry will issue the letter of award to the contractor today.
Sinanan said that for this week, the contractor would focus on procuring materials and bending steel for the project off site.
He said despite the Government's lastest COVID-19 restrictions, the construction sector remains operational and so the all the ministry's ongoing projects will continue.
"We have a lot of roadworks taking place and we will take advantage of the period. However, we have to be careful because we too operate on a rotational basis and have to obey by the health guidelines," Sinanan said.