Sahadeo: Plipdeco crane not foreign-used

JUNIOR Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Christine Sahadeo, last week denied that the Board of the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Company (Plipdeco) had purchased a gantry crane from an Italian company. However, the Minister said Plipdeco did purchase a mobile harbour crane, which although having had two breakdowns, did not affect productivity at the company.

The Minister was responding to a question in the Senate from Opposition Senator Wade Mark. Sahadeo told the Senate that the mobile harbour crane was tendered for and to the best of the knowledge of the Board members, it was brand new and not foreign-used. She said the crane had a capacity to handle 30 container moves an hour.

She said since the crane was commissioned at the end of August last year, it malfunctioned twice due to a broken ground steering rod. The Minister said $48,810 was paid to the local company Infortech Ltd to repair the crane. But she denied that the breakdowns affected productivity, insisting that the repairs were carried out during non-working hours. The minister said the crane was purchased from a company based in Ireland.