Is the Lara Stadium safe?

The Uff Commission of Inquiry identified several deficiencies with this project. Apart from the huge overrun cost of approximately $.5 billion, there was the troubling issue of at least 70 percent weld failure, with respect to the steel works, particularly the roof and stands.

Speaking to a joint select committee in May, the chief financial officer of Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago indicated that packages were being prepared for tenders for completion of the facility and that the work will commence sometime between August and September, with completion six months from the start.

The time frame of six months for completion seems to be at variance with the Uff Report (page 202) which suggested, in 2010, that the Brian Lara Stadium is far from completion.

The question therefore arises: is the Brian Lara Stadium safe? I am calling on the Minister of Sport to provide details on the following: * Who were the contractors given the responsibility for resolving the 70 percent weld failures as identified in the Uff Report? * Did these contractors have the requisite competencies and experience to resolve the weld issue? * Have the requisite agencies — Occupational Health and Safety Authority, Electrical Inspectorate, Building Inspectorate, Fire Service etc — provided the appropriate compliance certificates? * Will these certificates be published before the opening of the Lara Stadium so the public can make its own fit-for-use assessment? * Will the State be liable and/or accountable for any safety issue arising from any structural defect that causes loss of life or limb at the stadium? I am hoping these questions can be put to the Minister of Sport, in Parliament, for both oral and written answers.

PAUL MOHAMMED Orchard Gardens