Despite flawed contract, US$4.3M Embassy in Brazil for completion by mid-year

Almost five years since the sod was turned to mark the construction of a permanent building for the Guyana Embassy in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, the structure is set for completion by July 2022.

At the time of the sod turning in 2017 and over the last five years, little details were revealed on the project, but the News Room was able to confirm that the final cost for construction is now set at US$4.3 million.

Started by the previous APNU+AFC administration, the PPP/C government has allocated some $17.3 million in the 2022 budget to see the project to finality.

“We will ensure the project is completed and the people of Guyana get value for money,” Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd told the News Room on Tuesday.

The previous government had only released information on the sod turning which was done by former Vice-President and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson.

But according to Todd, the project that the PPP/C government inherited was completely flawed with mounting inconsistencies.

“Since taking office we had to do a lot of investigations…the project they initiated really could not stand up to scrutiny.”

“There are elements in the contract that would raise eyebrows for any government that is about transparency and accountability of the people’s money,” Todd said while noting that the Minister of Finance was better positioned to provide more details on the “breaches.”

The Foreign Minister said the issues were directly related to the contract and the design submitted.

The contract for construction was done through a partnership between a local firm and another construction firm in Brazil.

“We had to apply the laws of Brazil and there were many variables to take on board. It was not a very decent contract, for example, the person who won came well below the engineer’s estimate which means that it was fundamentally flawed to complete the contract based on the drawings I saw,” Todd added.