Former general manager of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Noel Garcia was reportedly told to “cut his losses” and accept a reduced number of housing units at the Las Alturas housing project, after the project engineer reported the slope movement and cracking that had occurred at the site. However, this recommendation by Planning Associates Limited (PAL) project engineer Trevor de Landro was allegedly rejected by Garcia who said a reduction in units from 292 to 147 was “unacceptable.”
Continuing his evidence-in-chief at the commission of enquiry at the Caribbean Court of Justice, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, de Landro was unable to provide the date of the meeting at which he provided Garcia with a status update on the project. Promising to furnish the commission with the date when the hearing resumes on Monday, de Landro said he informed Garcia that “he couldn’t get what he wanted,” and that the maximum number of units that could possibly be constructed at the site was 150.
Led in evidence by lawyer for the commission Jagdeo Singh, de Landro said Garcia reacted by saying: “No, no, no” and spoke about fulfilling the mandate the HDC had been given as he insisted on the original number of units. Singh is appearing alongside Pamela Elder, SC, both of whom are instructed by Alvin Pariagsingh. Revealing that buildings A and B were “wholly unaffected by slope instability,” de Landro said no approvals were ever issued by the Town and Country Planning Division for construction on land that was unstable.
Referring to the open area designated a recreational space on the design, de Landro said PAL identified the crack along the slope between March and April 2005. As a result of this, PAL revised the project layout and design, and condemned buildings G, J, E, F and H as they were to be situated south of where the slope instability was identified.
De Landro said two revised proposals for 142 units and 167 units, respectively, were rejected by the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott), with no reasons given. Revealing that he continued his assessment of the site where buildings G and J were to be constructed, de Landro said he dug several test pits—which are small holes resembling graves and go as far down as six feet—at several points within the designated area.
On July 23, 2005, de Landro said: “I dug a small grave” approximately two feet deep and recovered “dump material.” He explained that after digging several more test pits at varying points within the allocated sites for buildings G and J, he consistently recovered the same kind of material which comprised soil mixed with foreign matter including rags, plastic bottles, old car parts, humus from burnt material, and in one pit, an entire tree trunk.
Asked by Singh what conclusion he formed, de Landro said it was impossible to construct any buildings on the sites chosen as they “can’t take 20 or 30 pounds, it will fail.” He repeated: “That rubbish dump cannot sustain the weight of that building,” as he referred to the four-storey apartment buildings that were to be constructed. De Landro said buildings on this land would most likely result in cracking as the soil could not sustain any load.
Asked to say if these findings were reported to Udecott, de Landro confirmed the test-pit reports were forwarded to a senior engineer. Speculating that the site was previously used as a dump by a quarrying service in the 1980’s, de Landro said Udecott was informed of the soil conditions at the site and that PAL had conveyed its grave reservations about building on the site.
With buildings A and B having been completed in January 2007, de Landro said, during the process there had been questionable behavior on the part of the project contractor China Jiangsu Corporation (CJIC), which had written to Udecott seeking more money for cost overruns and making claims that they had seriously underbid for the project.
Faced with a copy of the master plan from Civil Engineering Management and Services Ltd (CEMAS) on the projector screen, de Landro said he had not seen the June 2007 design before, and that he was unaware of when they had been hired. Asked to point out which buildings, on Cemas’s plan, would fall within the area affected by slope instability, de Landro said they included H, I, J, K, L and M.
Stressing that PAL’s design was vastly different from Cemas’s, de Landro said when the slope instability was identified, they relocated the buildings that had been earmarked to be constructed south of the slope—unlike in the Cemas design, where five buildings were located south of the slope. Handing over A and B to the HDC in 2007, de Landro said, the role of the engineer was to act as a watchdog for the client, but within the space of two months, Cemas had moved from a coordinating role to taking full responsibility for project management.
He added that with Cemas acting as a project manager for the HDC as well as designer and contractor, there was a conflict of interest as it was a case of “himself answering to himself.”
At a Glance
The commission of enquiry was set up to investigate “the entire process which led to the construction of the Las Alturas Towers at Lady Young Gardens, Morvant, and all other acts, matters or decisions done or undertaken incidental to and including the construction” of the project, which includes the procurement process. Two multi-storey units of the Las Alturas housing project began falling apart after construction and the $26 million towers were earmarked for demolition.
They were part of a larger project, which was originally budgeted at $65 million and then rose to $90 million. The commission is chaired by former Justice of Appeal Mustapha Ibrahim. The other members include civil engineers Dr Myron Wing-Sang Chin and Anthony Farrell. Lawyer Laraine Lutchmedial is the secretary. They were appointed by President Anthony Carmona last December.
Last September, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar recommended an enquiry into the project after raising concerns about the two towers which had to be demolished. Persad-Bissessar said Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, who was a former housing minister under the PNM, and Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde, who succeeded him, have distanced themselves from blame. Rowley said though he welcomed the probe, it would be another waste of taxpayers’ dollars.
Unexpected interruption
The commission of enquiry will endure a two-day interruption as CCJ officials have indicated their desire to utilise the court room where the proceedings are taking place. Informing the lawyers yesterday, commission chairman Mustapha Ibrahim said they were only informed of this development earlier this week, hence the unforeseen interruption which has resulted in the enquiry being adjourned to next Monday at 9.30 am.