WORKS and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said he had no input in the decision to build a bridge over a diverted watercourse which passes through a portion of land he owns in Sangre Grande. He said he has not received any money for use of the land by Government.
Sinanan was speaking during a media conference at the ministry’s head office on Monday to address what he called inaccurate statements by Opposition Senator Wade Mark during the UNC's weekly Sunday media conference. Sinanan said this was not the first time the issue was brought up.
He said he had addressed it thoroughly in 2019, but Mark had chosen to bring it up again.
Bridges, landslips, and traffic management programme (BLTM) director Mahadeo Jagdeo gave a timeline of the B2/1 Bridge project in Cunapo Southern Road, Sangre Grande.
He said an assessment of bridges in TT was carried out in 2010, with the Cunapo bridge identified as needing urgent reconstruction. He said procurement for design and construction supervision consultancy services for this bridge, along with 12 others, began in 2014, with the contract for the Cunapo bridge being awarded to Beston Consulting Ltd in September 2015.
He said that in January 2016, the firm presented two options for the reconstruction, either rebuilding it in its original position or realignment of the river and construction of the bridge approximately 100 metres south of the existing location.
The second option was approved by the ministry’s drainage division and traffic management branch, as well as the Environmental Management Authority. A cadastral survey in March 2016 identified Sinanan as one of two landowners who Government would have to acquire lands in order to carry out the project.
“Construction of the bridge began in April 2018, and upon completion in September 2019, a land acquisitions surveyor was asked to undertake acquisition surveys of the amount of land used from the two landowners, and this was completed and handed over to the Director of Surveyors for approval,” Jagdeo said.
Jadgeo said final approval is still being sought for the final acquisition survey drawings by the surveyor as of April 2023, and so Sinanan has not yet been paid anything for the use of his land.
Jagdeo said there were two aspects of the use of lands being used in the project: temporary usage for the erection of signboards and other structures, for which Sinanan agreed to be paid one-dollar; and permanent usage of land acquired, for which valuation is still ongoing.
NIDCO chairman Herbert George said the decision to divert the river was made as a result of good engineering practice, in order to cut off a wide loop.
Sinanan said when the issue came up, he went to the Integrity Commission and declared his interest.
In response to Mark’s questions, Sinanan said the project began in 2010, with the tender being awarded in 2014.
“I became a government minister in 2016, so I would not have had any input into the decision-making process. I have also received no money to date for any land that was used. Mr M
