Hart and UDeCOTT

[Jah Gol]

Perhaps more importantly is the lack of any criminal charges laid against any of those alleged to have engaged in corruption.  The government led by the AG has a proclivity for initiating civil proceedings . Pre action letter after after pre- action letter have been sent out in my view just to harrass people. They just not serious.

[Bakes]

These newspapers and them need to consult with attorneys before they start offering opinions on legal matters.  All they doing is adding to the confusion that is inherent to most of these litigation.

[Flex]

Udecott to spend $19b on 74 projects
By Geisha Kowlessar (Guardian).
Published: Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

The Urban Development Corporation (Udecott) currently has a mandate of 74 projects, costing just over $19 billion. So said Jearlean John as she was reappointed as the company’s chairman at a brief ceremony at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. Saying board members were “really taking care of Udecott’s business,” John pointed out that the organisation no longer made the front pages of the newspapers in a negative way.

“It is not by guess we have taken ourselves off the front pages. Udecott will continue to diligently deliver on its mandate,” John added. Udecott was the subject of the Uff commission of enquiry, which tabled 91 recommendations. John said 45 of these directly applied to Udecott and all were implemented. Saying during her initial tenure she led a major overhaul of all systems and procedures John said all of Udecott’s projects were now subject to open policy tender.

“Udecott has hired highly qualified and experienced staff and new departments have been established. “Udecott has a new tenders committee, of which I chose not to be a part and for the very first time in the company’s history a procurement department was established with a manager and procurement officers hired,” John added. Also for the first time, she said, the company had a facilities management department.
 
To ensure the post of chairman and CEO were kept separate, John said the office of the CEO was reintroduced so there was no conflict of interest and overlap of duties and also to ensure that transparency was always maintained. “The processes and procedures for the construction records and document management and finance departments were revamped and/or overhauled, including the introduction of new IT systems and technologies,” John added.

Senior project managers and legal officers also attended training sessions in April and May last year. Outlining some of Udecott’s projects over the last two years, John said those included:

• Relocating Parliament to Tower D at The Waterfront Complex, which was done within time and budget
• Retrofitting the Chancery Lane Administrative Complex into the new San Fernando Teaching Hospital
• Starting construction of eight state-of-the-art police stations
• Embarking on fitting out the government campus plaza which has a total of 1,363,624 square feet of space.

[Flex]

Hart to return for $500m lawsuit
By Shaliza Hassanali (Guardian).
Sunday, April 13, 2014

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan yesterday warned that former executive chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) Calder Hart will be hunted down and arrested if he fails to return to T&T for criminal and civil suits in which he is a key figure. The AG said Hart has given a commitment to testify in court. He said “by this week or next week” Hart’s matter will come up for “case management with directions to be given for a trial.”
 
Hart has been living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, since he resigned from Udecott and left the country in 2010. Ramlogan said one claim by the State is for $500 million for the mismanagement of the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium at Tarouba. Civil proceedings started after the Uff Commission of Enquiry report, which called for the police to probe Hart for allegedly misspending billions of dollars in Udecott projects across the country.
 
Defendants in the case include Hart, former Udecott deputy chairman Krishna Bahadoorsingh, former financial manager Ricardo O’Brien and former corporate secretary Neelanda Rampaul. “Mr Hart has in fact been located and has been communicating through his lawyers, and at the appropriate time, will have to come to testify and be cross-examined in court,” Ramlogan said.
 
The AG said on every occasion that the matter has come up before Justice Andre des Vignes, Hart’s attorneys have communicated with the judge and State attorneys. He is being represented in the matter by Dr Lloyd Barnett QC of Jamaica. Ramlogan said Hart has indicated through his legal team that “he is available and will not evade the jurisdiction of court and will submit himself for cross-examination when the trial begins”.
 
He said the decision on how soon the matter will start lies in the hands of the judge who has to set a trial date.
 
“But I made a plea to the judiciary to treat these matters with the urgency they deserve because they involve serious allegations of misuse and corruption of public funds,” Ramlogan said. “My only worry is that the judicial process is very slow. This matter should be given priority.”
 
Ramlogan said when the trial starts, should Hart evade the jurisdiction of the court, “we will invoke the procedures to compel him to present himself before the court, including asking for his arrest if necessary, but that is academic because thus far he has been communicating through his legal team.”
 
When the matter comes up on the next occasion, Ramlogan said, the judge will give directions for filing of witness statements, following which he will give a date for trial. Hart will then have to appear in court to testify and be cross-examined. The AG said he is confident of the State’s chances of success in this matter.

[Jah Gol]

Ramlogan said when the trial starts, should Hart evade the jurisdiction of the court, “we will invoke the procedures to compel him to present himself before the court, including asking for his arrest if necessary, but that is academic because thus far he has been communicating through his legal team.”
 
When the matter comes up on the next occasion, Ramlogan said, the judge will give directions for filing of witness statements, following which he will give a date for trial. Hart will then have to appear in court to testify and be cross-examined. The AG said he is confident of the State’s chances of success in this matter.

Yep, because we have really good relations with the US Government.

[asylumseeker]

Ramlogan said when the trial starts, should Hart evade the jurisdiction of the court, “we will invoke the procedures to compel him to present himself before the court, including asking for his arrest if necessary, but that is academic because thus far he has been communicating through his legal team.”
 
When the matter comes up on the next occasion, Ramlogan said, the judge will give directions for filing of witness statements, following which he will give a date for trial. Hart will then have to appear in court to testify and be cross-examined. The AG said he is confident of the State’s chances of success in this matter.

Yep, because we have really good relations with the US Government.

Doh worry, Plan B is extraordinary rendition.

[MEP]

Hmmm what about Ish and Ferguson?

[weary1969]

Hmmm what about Ish and Ferguson?

Unless d marines land they eh going a place.Legally they cannot be extradited because the good AG did not appeal the judges decision which said they were not going to be extradited.

All of all yuh u vote 4 d PP all yuh did really expect them 2 extradite dem fellas? That was not thought bout when all yuh did vote.

[Flex]

Stumbling block in Calder Hart case: Key file lost
By Derek Achong (Guardian).

The Urban Development Corporation of T&T’s (Udecott) inability to locate documents critical to its multi-million dollar lawsuit against its former executive chairman Calder Hart and three of its former executives, may potentially weaken its chances of successfully proving its alleged negligence in the management of a controversial mega-project.

The issue arose when the claim seeking to recover almost $65 million for its alleged breach of fiduciary duties in relation to the still incomplete Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), came up for hearing before Justice Andre des Vignes in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday.

Attorneys representing Udecott, Hart and the former executives — former chief operating officer Neelanda Rampaul, former vice-chairman Dr Krishna Bahadoorsingh and executive manager, Business and Financial Operations, Ricardo O’Brien — were initially scheduled to come together at yesterday’s hearing to decide on a trial date for the case.

But when the matter was called, attorneys for the former executives indicated their counterparts representing Udecott had failed to comply with deadlines for disclosing key evidence in the claim, set by Des Vignes and the Appeal Court during previous hearings in December and earlier this year. The attorneys indicated that without the documents, including a special report into the operations of Udecott in managing the projects, it would be difficult for them to plan their clients’ defences.

“I can’t prepare a case in a vacuum,” Bahadoorsingh’s attorney Colin Kangaloo said. Despite Des Vignes’s suggestion that they proceed with their submissions in preparation for the pending trial while awaiting the results of Udecott’s ongoing search for the documents, the attorneys held firm to their position that they could not continue until the issue was dealt with. In the lawsuit, Udecott alleges that the executives breached their duty to exercise skill, care and diligence in the management of the BLCA project.

Since it was filed in May 2012, the lawsuit has been hit with several delays, caused by two ammendments to the initial claim, as well as several procedural applications for both parties.
 
Searches continue

Conceived in 1999, the stadium, part of the Tarouba Sporting Complex, was expected to be completed in time to host matches for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup at the cost of $500 million. A combination of multiple delays, cost overruns and increases in the price of building materials led the final cost of the project skyrocketing to almost twice its original estimate. The money Udecott is seeking to recover, $65,680,978.88, represents the balance of the advance payments made to contractor Hafeez Karamath Ltd for the project.

In response, Udecott’s lawyer Lesley Ann Lucky-Samaroo indicated she and her team had already done extensive searches of their client’s records and were only able to disclose the documents they were able to locate. She also denied her client’s inability to find the documents was a deliberate ploy in the case. Des Vignes did not seem to be satisfied with their efforts.

“We accept your best intentions but they have not searched everywhere. Therefore, there are still a few places that can be searched,” he said. During a hearing of the case in December last year, Des Vignes gave Udecott instructions on what documents should be disclosed and a timeline for doing so, while warning that sanctions would be applied for non-compliance with his order.

After lengthy discussions on the issue yesterday, the executives’ attorneys agreed to file submissions on the possible legal sanctions for Udecott, which they initially said may include striking out segments of the corporation’s case where the missing documents were referenced.

At the end of the hearing, the attorneys for the executives asked if their clients needed to be present at the next hearing of the case - a requirement under the Civil Proceedings Rules 1998 -, which Des Vignes chose to dispense with when attorneys agreed that the clients’ presence was not necessary until the trial began. Lucky-Samaroo chose not oppose the application for the waiver. The case will be next heard on September 17.

[asylumseeker]

Roll a Udecott head!

[AB.Trini]

Tell them people who voted; Weary tell them- now they want to keep raising up another story /issue to deflect from the chupidness that happening with governance

[Flex]

Hyatt $.3B for Udecott
By JULIEN NEAVES Wednesday, June 11 2014

ATTORNEY General Anand Ramlogan said yesterday that Government has emerged successful from a three-year arbitration between the Hyatt Regency Trinidad and State-owned Urban Development Company (Udecott) with the international hotel chain paying out $334 million owed to the company.

AG Ramlogan said the settling of the arbitration, “has saved us a protracted legal battle that would have cost this country over $10 million in a legal budget to get this resolved.” He reported that Udecott has confirmed receipt of the monies and it will be used to complete public infrastructure projects.

“Today, I am pleased to advise that after difficult and complex negotiations, we have achieved a settlement pursuant to which a multi-party agreement was signed on June, 2 2004. Hyatt has agreed to pay Udecott the sum of $334,185,703.19 (inclusive of accrued interest and legal costs) which has been outstanding since 2008,” he said.

Ramlogan spoke on the arbitration in a statement to the Senate yesterday at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Port-of-Spain. He noted this was another successfully resolved multi-million dollar international arbitration under his supervision and management, reminding the Senate of Government’s victories in the Offshore Patrol Vessel arbitration and the World GTL arbitration.

He reported that on February 4, 2011, Hyatt issued a request for arbitration against Udecott. The dispute arose out of a hotel management agreement dated July 27, 2005 between Udecott and Hyatt for construction and subsequent management and operation of the Hyatt Hotel in Port-of-Spain.

Ramlogan explained that under this agreement Udecott agreed to finance and construct a first class hotel “entirely at its own cost” and the hotel was then to be managed and operated by Hyatt in return for a fee. The remainder of the hotel’s income after allowing for expenditure, reasonable running costs and Hyatt’s fee, was to be remitted to Udecott as a monthly Owner’s distribution.

Ramlogan pointed out that a key point of dispute arose from the fact that Udecott assigned its leasehold interest in the land on which the hotel was located to Port-of-Spain Waterfront Develop­­ment Limited (“the Waterfront Company”). The Waterfront company purchased the land through a mortgage with Wells Fargo Bank Northwest National Association and sub-leased the land to the Government.

“Unfortunately and inexplicably, Udecott’s (then) executive chairman Calder Hart negligently failed to procure at the time of transferring the leasehold to the Waterfront Company (and) Udecott did not procure the appropriate non-disturbance agreements from the Waterfront company and Wells Fargo as required under the hotel management agreement. This non-disturbance clause was an obvious requirement for an international hotel. Indeed, it was considered a mandatory requirement,” Ramlogan explained.

He said this “negligent omission” on the part of the Calder Hart-led board at Udecott resulted in Hyatt refusing to pay the State company any money in accordance with the terms and conditions of the hotel management agreement.

“This severely compromised Udecott’s cash flow and financial position for many years as hundreds of millions of dollars in anticipated income from the Hyatt never materialised,” Ramlogan reported.

Hyatt, which had not paid UDeCOTT any money since 2008, triggered the arbitration clause in the agreement by issuing a request for arbitration on February 4, 2011 and Toronto, Canada was the venue for the arbitration hearing.

[Flex]

HDC, Udecott on board for Las Alturas probe
By Anna-Lisa Paul (Guardian).

As the commission of enquiry into the $40 million Las Alturas housing project held its procedural hearing yesterday, several people were ordered to be made parties to the proceedings by chairman Mustapha Ibrahim.

Among them was structural engineer Steve Kistow who was deemed an “important witness” and officials of the project contractor China Gansu International Corporation (CGIC).

Both had declined to attend the hearing, despite having been invited by attorneys representing the commission.

The hearing took place at the Caribbean Court of Justice, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain. Pamela Elder, SC, and Jagdeo Singh, instructed by Alvin Pariagsingh are representing the commission.

Indicating the willingness by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) to be listed as parties to the proceedings, Elder said other organisations invited to attend yesterday’s hearing included Geotech Associates Ltd, C E Management and Services Ltd (CEMAS), S Kistow Engineering Services, and Planning Associates Ltd (PAL).

Vincent Nelson, QC, and Larry Lalla are representing the HDC, while Katherine Denbow appeared on behalf of Udecott.

Both sets of attorneys indicated their clients intentions to co-operate with the commission, while Martin Andrews of Geotech Associates Ltd and Ian Telfer of C E Management and Services Ltd confirmed their willingness to participate in the proceedings, respectively.

Requesting Ibrahim to hold off on making a decision about whether or not Planning Associates Ltd (PAL) should be made a party to the proceedings, Elder said they were still reviewing documents received last Friday to determine if they should be called as a commission witness.

“We have looked closely at the summary of the events outlined in the letter submitted by PAL.

“In the circumstances, I would kindly request if no petition is made today with respect to PAL being made a party to the proceedings,” she said.

Elder added: “We would like to give the most detailed consideration to the documents submitted by PAL and make a determination whether it would be in the best interest of the enquiry whether PAL is called as the commission witness.”

Representing PAL, Winston Riley sought clarification from the commission chairman on what exactly it meant to be a “party to the proceedings” and what rights were afforded to such named people.

Ibrahim later explained that such a person was entitled to an audience before the commission, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and make submissions.

Labelling his organisation a “voluntary witness,” Riley said they were prepared to co-operate fully and hand over any documents which may be required.

He was later cautioned by Ibrahim that his utterances were bordering on the realm of evidence.

Ibrahim assured him that they would be granted an opportunity to speak if it was determined that they should be made a party to the proceedings.

Addressing the issue of Kistow’s non-appearance as he claimed he had been hired by CEMAS, Elder said he played a “very important role” in the project.

Invited to briefly elaborate on this by Ibrahim, Elder listed, in chronological order, dates and times of site visits, meetings and subsequent reports and recommendations.

She said although the company S Kistow Engineering Services was contracted to complete the design, “Steve Kistow is the structural engineer whose stamp appears on the drawings.”

Elder said Kistow owed an independent duty, as well as a statutory duty under the Engineering Act of T&T, to appear before the commission and would also be able to advise on the procedures adopted during the project.

Seeking to underscore the importance of Kistow appearing before the commission, Elder presented excerpts from various site meetings, dating as far back as 2009, in which the question of soil stability first arose, changes were made to the building alterations and retaining wall design, and cracks first began appearing in the retaining wall south of Building H.

Requesting at least two weeks to file their witness statements, Nelson said they had a total of seven witnesses lined up but that arrangements would have to be made to ensure those abroad could be available for the next hearing.

Among them is former managing director of the HDC Noel Garcia who now lives in Ghana.

Denbow indicated that Udecott’s lone witness so far, project engineer Atiba de Souza, was in T&T.

Telfer and Andrews each assured Ibrahim that they too would be ready to proceed.

Elder requested that the next hearing, scheduled for February 2, be vacated as they were expecting a huge volume of material to be analysed.

Following submissions from all parties present, Ibrahim adjourned the enquiry to a date to be fixed.

[Flex]

$400m Red House repair starts in March
By Shaliza Hassanali (Guardian)

Government will pump $400 million into restoration work on the controversial Red House project by the end of March.

The Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) has already spent $110 million on consultancy and construction work on the historical building, which remains unfinished.

Work on the Red House began 19 years ago, with Udecott assuming responsibility for the project in 2005.

To bring the project to a close, Udecott will inject a further $381 million on construction of a Parliamentary Complex—phase two—taking the total figure for the iconic building to a whopping $891 million.

Confirmation came from chairman of Udecott Noel Garcia at his Sackville Street, Port-of-Spain, office on Monday.

Sitting in the company of Udecott’s chief operations officer Abena Richards, Garcia revealed that public tenders for the restoration project went out last June.

Of the ten companies that submitted bids, Garcia said only three had pre-qualified.

“Those tenders have been evaluated. A decision is to be made before the end of the week as to how we are to proceed.

“A recommendation will come to the board on Wednesday. I expect we will have to sit and negotiate with the preferred contractor. This has to go to Cabinet for approval. We are talking about another two months. I suspect restoration work will start on the Red House by the end of March,” Garcia disclosed.

Garcia estimated the cost of the project at “$340 million to $400 million,” to be completed in 2018.

Since 1997, Garcia said, the Red House was earmarked to be restored, but this had been hindered by delays.

Once completed, Garcia said, Udecott would move to construction of the Parliamentary Complex on the northern side of the Red House to house administrative staff, a library, offices for MPs and other staff.

Richards said the complex’s “current base building cost” exclusive of outfitting costs and Value Added Tax (VAT) is estimated at $346.1 million “without contingency.”

With contingency-exclusive of VAT, Richards estimated the cost at $381.1 million.

Richards disclosed that the design work for the Parliamentary Complex “was ongoing right now. Once that is complete then we will go out for tender and then construction.”

Richards also gave a breakdown of the ten companies which were paid “thus far” by Udecott for consultancy and construction work on the Red House, which amounted to $110 million exclusive of VAT.

The largest payment went to Canadian firm Genivar Ltd who collected $26.7 million. Genivar was contracted to renovate and refurbish the southern and mid-section of the Red House, which was expected to house the Office of the Prime Minister.

The next biggest payment went to Bernard Mackay Architect/Saraiva e Associados, SA Joint Venture, with $23.4 million.

Enco Ltd was paid the least with $1.6 million.

Garcia: Project faced with administrative confusion

Garcia said that given the technical nature of the “plaster of paris” works to be undertaken on the ceiling of the Red House, masonry and ironmongery skills would be required.

“So whoever gets the restoration contract must have technical assistance from foreign firms,” Garcia said.

Asked what delayed work on the historical building, Garcia said: “There were a number of issues.”

Among them were administrative changes, budgetary constraints, and changes in the scope of works.

Another setback occurred in 2014, following the discovery of bones and cultural artefacts during an excavation phase at the Red House, Garcia said.

“To a certain extent there was a bit of administrative confusion or ambiguity as to what should have been done. Then there were technical issues and hurdles. Restoration requires specialists. It was not a case of simply going out there to restore it. You have to get people who can understand what needs to be done. Then you have to reduce it into a brief and then tender. So those were factors that delayed the project,” Garcia said.

He said whenever a new administration came into power the project changed direction.

Garcia said when then prime minister Patrick Manning was in power there were plans to move the prime minister’s office to the Red House.

“That plan fell through the cracks when the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led government came into office in 2010, which saw the Red House being relocated to the Waterfront (International Financial Centre, Tower D). It took a different turn.

“There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing,” said Garcia.

“It has been a long time. It became almost like a football. It started with Nipdec then it went to the Ministry of Works. After that it was in abeyance. Then it landed in Udecott’s hands,” Garcia said.

Yesterday, in response to a text message, former leader of government business Dr Roodal Moonilal said to his knowledge the then People’s Partnership government did not pay Udecott—the landlord—a rent when the Red House shifted from Port-of-Spain to the Waterfront in 2011 “since it was a government building not private owners.”

Cadiz speaks

Former trade and industry minister Stephen Cadiz, in a 2011 Sunday Guardian article, disclosed that repairs and renovations to the Red House over the last eight years had cost taxpayers $200 million and citizens had not seen value for money.

Cadiz read a report coming out of a Joint Select Committee in the House of Representatives. Cadiz, who chaired a five-member committee appointed by Cabinet, said the first report raised serious concerns about the building.

The former Chaguanas East MP described the work by Udecott as a “botched job. The money has already been spent. We can’t recover any of it.”

Cadiz said ad hoc renovations had resulted in a number of problems, mainly modification of the building’s original design while there was lack of maintenance, leaks in the roof, insect infestation and deterioration of the building’s architectural structure.

He described the building as “untenable” stating that the committee had looked at three options for the Red House.

• The first was that restoration be done on a phased basis while Parliament conducted its affairs.

• The committee also considered the relocation of the entire Parliament to another building.

• The third option was a partial relocation, which Cadiz said was a recipe for disaster.

It was against this backdrop, Cadiz said, the committee recommended that necessary steps be taken to restore the Red House to a safe and healthy environment as a matter of urgency.

“Therefore, option two was the preferred choice by the committee, which is the relocation of the entire Parliament,” Cadiz said.

n See story in tomorrow’s paper: Economists okay with Govt spending on Red House, but want value for money

ABOUT THE RED HOUSE

Built in 1844, the Red House is the seat of Parliament for T&T. The current structure was built after the original government administration building was destroyed by fire in 1903. The new building was intended to house the Legislative Chamber and the offices of the governor, the Attorney General, the colonial treasurer and the law courts. The design was revised by public draughtsman Daniel Hahn and it was he who added the high central cupola popularly known as the Rotunda, the ornate stucco ceilings in the southern and northern chambers, and the fortifications around the roof.

Contractors/consultants paid by udecott

List of contractors/consultants paid by Udecott for consultancy and construction of the Red House. Prices are VAT exclusive:

• Alpha Engineering and Design (2002) Ltd $16,199,006.19

• Amcoweld Engineering Services Ltd $17,383,657.53

• Bynoe Rowe Wiltshire Partnership $10,636,001.40

• CEP Ltd $4,145,807.01

• Enco Ltd $1,683,189.19

• Evergreene Pain Ting Studios, Inc $2,322,672.26

• Genivar Ltd $26,704,090.62

• North Country Slate $2,381,807.92

• Adam’s Project Management & Construction Ltd $4,659,908.19

• Bernard Mackay Architect/Saraiva e Associados, SA Joint Venture $23,456,388.75

[Flex]

Judge throws out Udecott case against Hart.
By Jada Loutoo (Newsday).

A high court judge has struck out a multi-million dollar claim against former Udecott chairman and three of the State company’s former directors.

In May 2012, Udecott filed the breach of fiduciary duty claim against Hart, Krishna Bahadoorsingh, Ricardo O’Brien and Neelanda Rampaul.

Hart and Bahadoorsingh filed an application to have the claim automatically struck out on the basis that Udecott did not apply to the judge hearing the case to have a case management hearing fixed after defences had been filed.

Justice David Harris’ ruling on Monday was in keeping with the guidelines set out in the National Gas Company’s claim against Super Industrial Services under rule 27.3 (4) of the Civil Proceedings Rules.

As a result of Harris’ ruling, Udecott’s claim against Hart and the others has been struck out.

He has, however, permitted the company to file an application for relief from sanctions to reinstate the matter. This must be done by February 21. He has also ordered Udecott to pay Hart and Bahadoorsingh’s costs, to be assessed.

In his written decision, Harris pointed out the application by Hart and Bahadoorsingh were filed on September 11 and October 16, 2017, approximately four years after the filing of the last defences.

He said according to the rules, with the last defence having been filed on May 15, 2013, the first case management hearing should have been fixed by May 29, of that year. With this not having been done, when rule 27.3 (4) was applied, the claim stood automatically struck out as at June, 13.

A satellite issue involving the $65 million claim was also listed for hearing in the Court of Appeal on Monday where Udecott appealed the striking out of several portions of the lawsuit against Hart and the others. It was adjourned pending Harris’ ruling, and will again come up on Monday.

Udecott’s claim sought to recover almost $65 million for alleged breaches of fiduciary duties in relation to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

Since it was filed in May 2012, the lawsuit has been hit with several delays, caused by two amendments to the initial claim as well as several procedural applications by both parties.

Conceived in 1999, the stadium, was expected to be completed at the cost of $500 million. A combination of multiple delays, costs overruns and increases in the price of building materials led to the final cost skyrocketing to almost twice its original estimate. The money Udecott is seeking to recover, represents the balance of advance payments made to the contractor for the project.

Udecott is represented by attorneys Darmendra Punwasee and Daryll Allahar. Attorney Annabelle Sooklal represented Hart, while Bahadoorsingh was represented by Colin Kangaloo and Anthony Bullock and Imran Ali represented O’Brien and Rampaul.

[Flex]

Udecott explains leak
T&T Guardian Reports.

The Ur­ban De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny of Trinidad and To­ba­go (Ude­cott) has ex­plained the rea­son for a leak in the Red House on Tues­day.

Ude­cott is­sued a state­ment Tues­day night say­ing that "due to a bro­ken rub­ber seal on the alu­minum flash­ing in the sky­light of the ro­tun­da, there was a leak with to­day's rain­fall."

The state­ment added that "this mat­ter is be­ing rec­ti­fied by the con­trac­tor. It falls with­in the de­fects li­a­bil­i­ty pe­ri­od of one year and will be fixed at no ad­di­tion­al cost to tax­pay­ers."

RELATED NEWS

Udecott head after Red House leaks: ‘I’m 100% satisfied’
By Andrew Gioannetti (Newsday).

NOEL Garcia, chairman of the Urban Development Corporation (Udecott), says he could not be more satisfied with work done by all contractors on the $441 million Red House restoration.

The Red House on Abercromby Street, Port of Spain, formally opened on Friday with a gala ceremony. However, on Tuesday, considerable leaks became apparent during heavy rain.

Newsday visited the Red House on Wednesday and saw a representative of Udecott and several contracted workers on the ground and rooftop, none of whom were willing to speak to the media.

Garcia was subsequently contacted to comment on when the repairs should be complete.

He said: "I wouldn't know. Unfortunately, I'm not an architect (or) engineer. But I will find out, because I cannot answer that off the bat.

Garcia was also asked if he was satisfied with Construction Services and Supplies Ltd, the contractor for the roof, which cost $21.1 million, and all the other contractors.

He replied: "Of course, 100 per cent satisfied."

The two leaks, in the rotunda and senate chamber, he said, was not of major concern since Udecott will not be responsible for the
repairs, as the problem arose during the one-year defects liability period. He compared it to warranties which comes with the purchase of new vehicles.

"Why are people getting so excited? When you buy a car from Toyota, don't you get a defects liability period? Because you can expect that within that time, defects may arise and those defects are dealt with.

"If you buy a Mercedes-Benz or a Rolls Royce, (they have) defects liability periods, because you expect in that period, things may go wrong."

The public, he said, is getting carried away with sensational news, instead of celebrating success, such as the opening of the Red House.

"You know, I just find in this country, we just not seeming to celebrate success. All we celebrate is negative things.

"So, in a capsule: we will fix it (the roof). We will fix it, in a matter of, I would say, if not today, then, hopefully, by tomorrow," said Garcia.