Technicians Voice Concerns Over Proposed Changes to Initial Road Project

A group of technicians is expressing serious concerns regarding proposed modifications to the initial plans for the Beaux-Songes-Flic-en-Flac road project in Mauritius. Their worries centered on the effectiveness of a new drainage system design involving the use of “box culverts,” which are prefabricated concrete sections assembled on site, rather than a traditional bridge.

With heavy rainfall a common occurrence in the region, technicians from the Land Drainage Authority (LDA) and their colleagues at the Road Development Authority (RDA) fear that the proposed change could lead to significant flooding in the Beaux-Songes and Cascavelle areas.

This Rs 1.7 billion project is a collaboration between the government and the Médine Group, and it includes plans for a 70-meter bridge that would cross a watercourse near Beaux-Songes.

However, Transinvest Construction Ltd, the contractor for the project, has reportedly recommended to the Ministry of National Infrastructure and the RDA that the bridge be replaced with box culverts.

This recommendation was made with the backing of the contractor’s consultant, despite a directive from the Ministry’s consultant to construct a bridge.

There seemed to be strong interest from officials in the ministry and the RDA to adopt this change, yet many technicians from the LDA and some RDA colleagues opposed the idea.

The technicians are concerned that while box culverts may be more cost-effective, they would not handle heavy rainfall as effectively as a bridge.

They claimed that a larger volume of water—up to twice as much—can flow beneath a bridge compared to these prefabricated structures.

Moreover, they cautioned that increasing residential development in the Pierrefonds and Beaux-Songes areas may render the box culverts inadequate in the years to come.

The Médine Group has plans to expand its projects in this region, and the government is also considering the construction of a new public hospital in Pierrefonds to alleviate pressure on the existing facility in Candos.

Experts believed that, taking climate change and ongoing developments into account, a bridge would be a more appropriate choice to prevent potential flooding in the area.

While no official decision has been made regarding this proposed change, the Ministry of National Infrastructure is reportedly eager to gain LDA approval to switch from a bridge to box culverts by the end of the month.

The LDA’s board of directors is set to meet at the end of September, where this issue will be on the agenda for discussion.

Should this new plan be approved, several questions will arise. According to the Public Procurement Act, any significant modification to a project of this scale must be communicated to the Public Procurement Office (PPO). The law did not permit major changes unless authorized by the PPO.

Additionally, the agreement between the government and the Médine Group stipulated the inclusion of a bridge crossing the watercourse, and this agreement has been approved by the Cabinet.

It remained unclear whether the Cabinet and the PPO are aware of the proposed modification and if the Médine Group has been informed of the contractor’s suggestion to replace the bridge.

We reached out to the office of the Minister of National Infrastructure, Bobby Hurreeram, for comments on this proposed change and to inquire whether the PPO and Cabinet have been consulted.

As soon as we receive a response, along with any information from the Médine Group, we will publish it.

However, Transinvest Construction Ltd has declined to comment on the project, directing inquiries to the RDA, operating under the Ministry of National Infrastructure.

Osman Mahomed, a former engineer at the Ministry and a member of the Labour Party, emphasized that it is not uncommon for contractors to propose alternative solutions.

However, he noted that the client’s engineers, in this case the Ministry of National Infrastructure, should retain the final say in such decisions.

Source: l’Express