A lot of people may be wondering about what is actually transpiring regarding the Marina project.
The answer to that is, practically nothing except the fact that the government continue to say they are “negotiating” Terms of Reference for an EIA, Environmental Impact Assessment, with the developer SF Marina. There seems to be no movement.
The very idea that they are negotiating these terms is anathema. The government should be dictating terms and choosing the consultants.
Anyway, even ignoring this, the Government are perhaps not understanding the timeline position of the Marina project. If they are understanding it then they certainly have not indicated that is the case.
Everyone is going on about an EIA but nobody has yet done a Feasibility Study which is ALWAYS carried out first. The so called feasibility study produced by Edgewater and swallowed by the previous administration is no such thing. Not a single scientific measurement was taken at any location. Edgewater’s document is a glossy sales brochure designed to lure investors.
A true EIA is a very expensive undertaking. What would be the point of deploying a scientific assessment team to cover all the proper terms of reference if you did not know at least these simple things that could be discovered relatively cheaply and which could make or break the project.
1. The composition of the mud in the pond and its suitability as a foundation material for extensive building works.
2. The concentration of H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide Gas) in the mud. H2S combines with water to form sulfuric acid (H2SO4) which in a high saline solution will be catastrophically destructive of any steel sheet piling.
3. The depth of the mud layer and depth of material down to bed rock. This is the depth to which sheet piling or structural support piling must be driven
These three little questions alone constitute a huge unknown when it comes to project cost.
All this is high school engineering and chemistry. Who can convince us that somebody is planning of spending 270 million dollars without have dipped even a toe in the pond. It is just total nonsense.
No true investor would entertain the idea of pumping money into such a scheme without an extremely detailed feasibility study followed by an EIA and Social Impact Assessment.
On behalf of the Sandy Ground Community Association.
