The Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill has maintained that the government’s asphalt plant, managed by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC), is not fully functional as claimed by his predecessor David Patterson.
Edghill said the factory engineer left Guyana on January 04, 2021 and is anticipated to be back by mid-February for final testing and training of the engineers and plant operators.
According to the Minister, the principal functions of the asphalt plant are the drying, heating and cleaning of aggregates facilitated by the burner thermal energy, through communication with the BLS 3000 – the plant’s operational software.
Due to issues with the software and electronic components, Edghill said the plant is not fully functional to date.
On August 28, 2020 just after assuming office, Edghill and Minister Deodat Indar visited the Asphalt Plant to be updated on the progress of works. During that visit, he said the main power control cabinet was yet to be installed.
This aspect of the work was completed on November 25, 2020 and on December 12, 2020 the German Engineer commenced rechecking and verifying the electrical and electronic components of the structure.
After completing this, he commenced testing of the systems, including the cold feed, conveyor, burner, dust collection and mixing systems, together with the hot aggregate storage, vibrating screen system, reclaimed filler silo, bitumen weighing scale and the granulate system.
Edghill said after the tests were conducted, it was found that three of the systems were not functioning, hence making the structure inoperable to date. The systems which are currently not functioning are the Burner System, the Bitumen Weighing Scale and the Granulate System.
The Burner is presently not working due to a software controller, which has to be configured for the use of Diesel Fuel.
The Bitumen Weighing Scale was unable to be tested as two load cells were not operable due to moisture, likewise the Granulate System is unable to function as a result of a load cell that needs to be replaced.
According to the Minister, these findings were reported to the factory and the Germans will stand the expenses of these components, given that the structure has not been commissioned as yet.
