Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to refer the hon. Member to the reply I made to PQ B/223 on 25 March 2025 wherein I informed the House that the B28 Road had been severely damaged further to the pipe laying works being carried out by the Central Water Authority. I also informed the House that the CWA would implement the required works to reinstate the road. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am now informed by the CWA that the reinstatement works concern some 13.1 km of road following the replacement of approximately 30-year-old Ductile iron pipes. The reinstatement is being carried out in two stages. Firstly, temporary reinstatement undertaken by the contractor carrying out the pipelaying works which consist of back-filling and applying a 30-millimetre layer of asphaltic concrete along the trenches. And secondly, the permanent reinstatement to be undertaken by a separate Grade A contractor following a bidding exercise. This involves asphalting the damaged road to a thickness of 50 millimetre. As at date, temporary reinstatement works from Ferney to Anse-Jonchée, over approximately 6.7 km are ongoing and are expected to be completed by August 2025. As regards the road from Anse-Jonchée to Bambous Virieux and Petit Sable, temporary reinstatement works have already been completed in April 2025. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am further informed by the CWA that a separate contract for the permanent road reinstatement works is expected to be launched under the Open National Bidding procedures by mid July 2025. The works are expected to start by October 2025 and would be completed by February 2026. Additionally, provisions have been made under the current financial year to carry out the permanent road reinstatement works from Ferney to Petit Sable. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to highlight that the RDA has raised concerns over the CWA’s failure to comply with the conditions of wayleave namely, at L’Escalier, Chemin Grenier, St-Julien-d’Hotman and Hermitage, where no proper temporary reinstatement work was carried out despite several notices sent.

74 According to the RDA, the practice of awarding separate contracts for pipelaying and permanent road reinstatement results in significant delays, adversely affecting road users due to insufficient temporary restoration. To address this, the RDA is proposing to take over permanent road reinstatement works once pipelaying is completed and commissioned by the CWA. In this regard, the RDA will hold discussions with the CWA for the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding, outlining payment terms and responsibilities to be agreed upon between both authorities.

Hon. First Member for Savanne and Black River! NLTA – PUBLIC SERVICE VEHICLE (CONTRACT CARS) LICENCE – REQUIREMENTS & CONDITIONS