The beginning of the New Year has met a number of public sector buildings either under reconstruction, repair, or at the planning stage following the impact of Hurricane Irma on Anguilla in September 2017.
The work might have progressed further had it not been for the necessity and strict requirements of the procurement system which, among other matters, governs the awarding of building contracts and careful expenditure.
The money for a number of building projects was provided by a UK Government humanitarian grant of sixty million pounds. So far, there has been expenditure on such projects as a new storage facility, at the Department on Infrastructure, which is now at the ring beam; the rebuilding of a major section of the building housing the Ministry of Home Affairs; extensive repairs and improvement of the Princess Alexandra Hospital; the repair of the roof of the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium at Campus B; and the current replacing of the roof of The Valley Police Headquarters.
Work is still to commence on the replacement of the roof of the House of Assembly. The hurricane damage has led to the suspension of the use of the building for meetings of the House which are being held at the Magistrate’s Court for the time being.
There has been some expenditure on the temporary passenger terminal at the Blowing Point Port pending the construction of a new terminal building and other facilities later on.
With the coming of the New Year, some 32 million of the above 60 million pounds is expected to be spent on a number of additional projects. The list includes additional classrooms at the Adrian T. Hazell Primary School and Valley Primary School; repairs to the Orealia Kelly Primary School; the complete rebuilding of the Morris Vanterpool Primary School at East End; and the building of a new Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School in The Quarter area.
Some smaller projects are also expected to be funded from the 60 million pounds later on.
