THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025
VOLUME 119, No.16
Chinese spending $$ Page 3
www.thevincentian.com
Easter Message Page 6
Women Police meet Page 13
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Ralph’s legacy??? Page 15
Legal ganja, negative impact Page 28
CUMMINGS NOT CONVINCED Below: Piling, which has come in for major criticism, began on the project site about November 2024.
Daniel Cummings, himself an engineer, expressed concern about what he said were flaws in the actual design of the new port in Kingstown. by DAYLE DA SILVA DANIEL CUMMINGS, New Democratic Party (NDP) Parliamentary Representative for West Kingstown, is not at all convinced by the information provided by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves as it relates to the corrective work to be done at the Port Modernization Project. While speaking at a rally on April 14 at Rockies, Cummings said that the governing Unity Labour Party (ULP) government did not care whether the project failed or if it made money. “They only care how it looks for them,” the West Kingstown Representative said. Glenford Stewart, an engineer by profession and a Minister in a past NDP administration, alongside Cummings during a media
briefing of April 2, shared a view as to why the reported declutching occurred at the Port Project, was because the port’s design was flawed. They pointed to the lack of material, for example boulders, to absorb the energy associated with wave action. Additionally, Stewart stated that the piles were not driven far enough into the sea floor. Dr. Gonsalves, during an April 11 press conference, outlined the corrective work to be done at the Port. But Cummings seemed not the bit convinced by the information provided by Lensky Douglas, Port Project Manager (Ag), to which Dr. Gonsalves referred. “Our concern is how it (the port modernization project) is going to impact the people in this country,” Cummings said, adding that it was said that
the project was going to have the best engineering design. “However, sand was just dumped into the water. That is what you do, you bring sand and dump it in the water,” the West Kingstown MP said with a degree of sarcasm.
A piling problem Cummings went on to explain that the piles were driven on the same sand and then structures were now being built on top of that, and after it was realised that there was too much sand and dredging was required because the piles were not driven in far enough, there was movement from within the piles and the declutching occurred. “They did not put the piles into the existing floor of the sea; the piles were only punched into the sand that they dumped into the water,” Cummings contended. Some 30% of the of the totally installed sheet piles was affected causing the escape of reclaimed sections of the Continued on Page 3. port’s surface.