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Contractor says Bamia School project 95% completed
After missing four deadlines…
Kaieteur News – Almost three years after signing the contract and missing four deadlines, St8ment Investment Inc. on Wednesday announced that the Bamia Primary School project they have undertaken in Region 10 is nearing completion as it is at 95 percent completed.
The Bamia Primary School project which is 95 percent completed. (Photos, St8ment Investment Inc)
Just last week during his press conference, Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo had briefly mentioned that the school project was “finished now”.
However, following reports that the school project maybe further delayed, St8tment in a release yesterday said, “Despite political mischief and various challenges during construction—such as material shortages, rising costs, and labor shortages—the Bamia School in Linden, Region 10, is now 95% complete.”
According to the company, given the challenges encountered, the company was granted an extension to complete the school “by late 2024” and that they remain on track to meet this revised deadline. The company said that currently they have minimum work remaining in the areas of electrical and plumbing.
Quoted in the release, the Project’s Chief Foreman, Akannie Blair, stated “This will be one of the region’s most modern and advanced schools and is set to be a great environment for learning.”
It was shared that primary school is designed to be a state-of-the-art facility and will include a gymnasium, a main building housing 44 spacious classrooms, an auditorium with a performance stage, a sick bay equipped with showers, two smart classrooms, modern restroom facilities, a library, music room, science lab, and a staff room among other amenities.
Kaieteur News had reported in July that after failing to complete the project on four occasions, the contractor was given an additional eight weeks to complete the construction of the $346M school.
This was according to information provided by Deron Adams, Regional Chairman of Region 10 at the time. Adams had noted that should the contractor fail to complete the school, no more extensions will be granted. “If it’s not finish in that time, liquidation will start from the last due date, which was the end of June 2024,” he added.
This publication had reported that the school project was expected to be completed in April this year, but at the time, works were only 75 percent completed. St8ment Investment Inc. was formed some six months prior to being handed the contract.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the slothfulness of the project, Adams had said it is hoped that the school could be completed soonest so as to eliminate the challenges students from the Bamia community are facing. “The issue is that because of the distance, children have to walk from the Bamia area all the way to Amelia’s Ward Primary; it is a challenge for them. The delay of this school is bringing more hardship on them,” he expressed.
Earlier this year, $127 million was approved by the National Assembly to go towards completing the school. This publication had reported that the contract for the school was signed in November 2021. St8ment Investment Inc. was incorporated in March of 2021 and its principals are Rawle Ferguson and Kerwin Bollers of Hits and Jams Entertainment along with Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major and Kashif Muhammed of the Kashif and Shanghai football tournament.
At the time of the signing, the project was expected to be completed within 20 months, that being completed by July 2023. However, the contractor was unable to finish the project, and was given a new deadline of November 2023 to complete the works. That deadline also passed and the works appeared to have been stalled.
During the Consideration of the 2024 Budget, the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag was asked by the members of the Opposition to provide a status update on the school, to which she announced that the school will be completed for April 1, 2024. That deadline too was missed and the contractor was given a fourth deadline to the end of June to completed the works. This newspaper was later informed that as of June, works were at 88 percent completed.
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