Former Public Works Minister and Opposition Shadow Minister Annette Ferguson on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the government’s handling of the $15.8 billion multi-ministry office complex at Haags Bosch, Eccles, saying that the administration had misled the public and was seeking to blunt parliamentary oversight by releasing a progress update just days before budget scrutiny.
Ferguson was responding to comments by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, who announced that the project is “nearly halfway completed” and that the original August 2026 completion deadline has now been extended to January 2027.
Speaking with Village Voice News today, Ferguson said the timing of the minister’s statement was highly suspect.
“What is particularly troubling is the timing of this public pronouncement. Coming days before the scrutiny of the Ministry of Public Works’ budget estimates in the National Assembly, it appears that the Minister deliberately chose the public domain to pre-empt or soften parliamentary interrogation,” she said.
“This approach raises legitimate concerns about transparency and accountability, especially for a project of this scale and controversy.”
Ferguson directly disputed the government’s claim that the project is approaching the halfway mark.
“The Minister’s claim that the project is approximately 48–50 per cent complete does not align with what is visibly evident on the ground. Steel assembly remains ongoing, while critical stages such as blockwork, electrical and plumbing installations, roofing decking, and internal finishes are yet to commence. To describe the project as ‘nearly halfway completed’ under these circumstances risks misleading the Guyanese public,” she said.
She recalled that between 2021 and 2025, approximately $8.7 billion in public funds was approved for the project, which originally carried a completion date of August 2026.
“The announcement of an extension to January 2027, at this juncture, appears premature and underscores the absence of consistent public reporting and rigorous oversight throughout the life of the project,” Ferguson said.
She also criticised what she described as the lack of visible accountability surrounding the project.
“Unlike other infrastructure works where the Minister is frequently visible, inspecting roads, bridges, and even minor obstructions to public spaces; this flagship office complex has not benefitted from the same level of public engagement or accountability,” she said.
Although the contractor, Caribbean Green Builders Inc, has delivered or is nearing completion on several other major public and private developments, including the Brickdam Police Station and large commercial projects, Ferguson said this only heightens concerns about monitoring and enforcement in the case of the Haags Bosch complex.
“As a Guyanese citizen, I am deeply concerned about value for money, project governance, and the absence of timely, detailed reporting on a development funded entirely by taxpayers,” she said.
“In the absence of transparent milestone reporting, certified progress assessments, and clear explanations for repeated delays, public confidence will continue to erode.”
Ferguson said she expects opposition members to aggressively interrogate the project during the estimates process.
“It is my trust that Opposition Members of Parliament will interrogate this project in detail during the estimates process, demanding clear answers on expenditure to date, contractual obligations, certified works completed, and the basis upon which completion timelines continue to shift. Parliament must not allow public statements outside the House to substitute for proper scrutiny within it,” she said.
“Public infrastructure must withstand public and parliamentary examination. Anything less undermines accountability and weakens democratic oversight.”
Edghill’s comments were made on Friday outside Parliament, where he said the project was about 48 per cent complete for February, slightly behind a 50 per cent target.
“The progress for February is 48% against 50% as of today…,” the minister said.
He attributed the delays to technical challenges at the site, citing “geotechnical variances” and explaining that “low blow counts at tower 3 caused delays.”
According to Edghill, steps are now being taken to recover lost time.
“To mitigate against further delays the contractor has commenced night shifts, has additional resources deployed and there are continuous material shipments,” he said.
The minister reported that construction is taking place across all four towers, with Towers 1 and 2 now at the eighth and ninth floors, and Towers 3 and 4 progressing on the sixth and seventh floors. He added that drainage ramps and the northern, eastern and western drainage channels are under construction, internal access roads are advancing, foundation slab works have begun on the central utilities building, and staircase frames are being installed throughout the complex.
Edghill also said all structural steel has been delivered to the site, 201 of the required 330 containers of hollow-core slabs have arrived, and the building façades have been shipped, with the first batch expected during the first week of March.
The four 12-storey buildings are being constructed using pre-stressed concrete piles designed to withstand loads of up to 175 tonnes.
The project is expected to face heightened political scrutiny tomorrow, when the Ministry of Public Works’ 2026 budgetary allocation, under Edghill’s portfolio, comes before parliamentarians for detailed examination during the estimates of expenditure.
The Haags Bosch development has remained politically contentious since its early stages. In June last year, Ferguson publicly questioned both the pace of construction and the level of spending at the site. More recently, the A partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian Sherod Duncan said a visit to the project on January 15, 2026 showed that the works had finally entered full vertical construction after prolonged early delays.
