FLOW, CHEC to reveal today whether claim settlement reached
Published:Tuesday | December 12, 2023 | 12:12 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
The Supreme Court is to hear on Tuesday whether Cable & Wireless Jamaica (FLOW Jamaica) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) have reached a settlement in a claim brought by the telecommunications giant to recover millions for damage allegedly done to its infrastructure during the Major Infrastructure Development Programme (MIDP) along several roadways in the Corporate Area.
FLOW, who is also suing the Government, is seeking to recover monies rebated to customers when the system was down as a result of the infrastructural damage.
The claimant, in pursuing legal action, named the National Works Agency (NWA) as the first defendant, the attorney general of Jamaica as second, with the engineering company being the third.
The trial, which started on November 6 and ran for three days, was scheduled to resume on Monday, but was adjourned until Tuesday after FLOW’s lead attorney-at-law, Denise Kitson, asked for additional time for both parties to try and arrive at a settlement.
She told Justice David Batts that both parties had discussed the matter during the break and were hoping to be in a more definitive position by 11 a.m.
Consequently, she asked for an adjournment, noting that they were awaiting written instructions, and the judge complied.
The telecommunications company is contending that the Government and/or its servants or agents as well as CHEC, the main contractor, caused significant damage to its infrastructure along several roadways in the Constant Spring areas, on Mandela Highway, in Hagley Park, Barbican Road, Camp Road, and in the Three Miles area.
This damage, Cable & Wireless alleges, caused it to incur significant loss and expenses.
According to Maurice Simpson, civil works manager at FLOW, the company was forced to fork out $124.1 million to lay new conduits and to repair the damaged cable networks along the various roads.
He told the court that the NWA had failed to provide the company with funds to assist in relocating its infrastructure during the project.
Simpson also testified that CHEC disregarded FLOW’s infrastructure and was primarily focused on carrying out the roadwork.
At the same time, FLOW Jamaica denied that it had resisted the Government’s effort to coordinate with the telecoms company to relocate its infrastructure throughout the project.
CHEC’s lawyer, however, during their cross-examination, suggested that FLOW Jamaica used the project as a cover to change out its old infrastructure.
FLOW had admitted that at the time of the project, there were old asbestos pipes and infrastructure dating from the 1960s in the Constant Spring, Hagley Park and Three Miles segments of the MIDP.
Attorneys-at-law Maurice Manning K.C., and Mark-Paul Cowan are representing CHEC.
Attorneys-at-law Regina Wong is representing the claimant.
Lisa White and Annaliesa Lindsay of the Attorney General’s Department are representing the first and second defendants.