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by pltm
(PLTM) - Four contracts with four different construction companies amounting to over $3.7 million were today, April 18 signed, for the restoration of the L-shaped building on the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) campus.
Director of Projects in the Ministry of Finance's Projects Unit, Dr. Drexel Glasgow, at the signing, disclosed that each company has been assigned one floor of the 39-room building.
The Four major contractors, he noted, will work in tandem under one common goal—“That is to have the L-Shaped building ready to receive students in the Fall Term 2019.”
“The third floor will be reconstructed by Autland Heavy Equipment Company Ltd for the amount $1,092,472. The second floor will be reconstructed by Metro Construction for the amount $916,567. The first floor will be reconstructed by Quality Construction Limited for the amount $941,900,” Dr. Glasgow disclosed.
He further added that the ground floor will be reconstructed by ‘Construction Industrial and Equipment’—a St. Lucian company in partnership with local contractor Greg Hodge, for the amount $824,459.
“The construction is projected to reach substantial completion by July 31, 2019,” he disclosed.
Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon. Andrew Fahie, in his remarks to the gathering, said, ”The documents that were signed today were not mere contracts for construction but a contract that signifies the importance that your government puts on our children and on education.”
One of his Government’s priorities, he noted, is restoring the education system to pre-hurricane levels, and to have students return to a full day’s teaching rather than the shift system.
Tender Process Waived
The Premier made public the fact that the tender process for the contracts were waived. However, he noted that the project was out for tender under the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to be funded by the $65 million loan.
However, they had to forego this option as it would take too long to access the funding and this would delay the completion of the building.
He reiterated that this option was taken “in order to get this reconstruction fast-tracked and to have it started now instead of next year, “and instead use local funding.”
He continued to explain, “This project, as I stated before, was out for tender with the CDB and I thank the CDB, they have been so helpful to us. But the decision was to bring in local funding and we waived the tender process for a reason. Waiving the tender process is a legal option as long as you can justify it.”
According to the Premier, they recognised that the restoration process could be fast-tracked by waiving the tender process and selecting contractors from the companies that submitted bids when the project was out for tender under the CDB.
By giving the four pre-qualified contractors one floor each, “we can speed up the process and make sure more mouths are fed,” the Premier noted.
The Premier also took the opportunity to ask that the corporate community get involved by providing donations. It was divulged that each of the four companies have pledged $10,000 towards the restoration. Hon. Fahie related that it takes between $9,000 to $15,000 to restore a room in the building which will house the junior students.
Businesses, he noted, can get on board by sponsoring the restoration of one classroom.
