Work has finally begun on a new campus building for St Rose’s High School on Church Street and is expected to be completed by August next year.
The Board of Governors of the school in a statement on Saturday said that work was finally started on February 22nd by Courtney Benn Contracting Limited.
The statement said that the first construction task is to supply and drive approximately 220 timber piles to support the 3/4 storey building.
It said that the current round of works to be conducted under the pile-driving exercise is expected to last approximately four weeks with the contractors contractually bound to complete all works under the said contract for the entire construction project no later than 21st August 2021 as they have signed an 18-month construction contract.
The statement said that many features have been retained but enhanced, including the internal courtyard green space garden feature, an enhanced canteen and dining area, off street drop off, pickup and parking via an internal driveway, wheelchair access to all levels via an elevator, a large 1,500-seat internal auditorium with stage and a separate audio visual monitoring and control room. A new internal Physical Education Department and a new Information Technology Laboratory are also among the features.
The statement thanked stakeholders including the Ursuline Convent, the Ministry of Education, the Minis-try of Finance, Bynoe Rowe & Wiltshire Consultants and staff and students of the school among others.
“We would like to encourage the contractor, that during the entire construction phase that they always operate in a safe, noise and dust free environment, and within the agreed guidelines, as the construction site is adjacent to our existing school. More importantly, we strongly encourage the chosen contractor to remain committed to completing our new Campus Building within the time frame allocated under the contract and to the prescribed standard and quality, as our stakeholders and partners will remain vigilant in their observations of these two vital aspects, throughout the impending construction process”, the statement added.
Saturday’s statement followed a recommendation by the Auditor General in his 2018 report that the contract for the $352m project with Benn be terminated as the contractor had failed to complete the work more than a year after the award.
A report in the January 5th 2020 edition of Stabroek News had said that Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma had stated that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board had awarded a contract in the sum of $352.710 million for construction of the school along Church street but though the contractor received an advance payment of $52.906 million followed by one interim payment of $5.186 million, no work has been completed.
“At the time of reporting the Advance Payment was not recovered [and] based on an examination of the contract and a physical verification of completed works, measurements and calculations [it] was discovered that…the site was abandoned and overrun with bushes. No equipment or materials were on site, while the only personnel from the contractor present was a security guard,” the report said.
In May last year, Chairman of the school’s Board Governors Kenrick Thomas had said an alteration in the design and foundation of the new building was the reason behind the delay in the start of construction.
The Auditor General’s report highlighted that no details regarding the advertisement for the works or Evaluation Report were presented for audit examination and therefore the Audit Office was unable to determine when the works were advertised and the basis of award of the contract.
Additionally, the engineer’s estimate could not be determined from the documents submitted for audit examination and while the Notification of Award was sent to the contractor since 24 April 2018, the contract, for reasons which remain unclear, was signed four months later on 8 August 2018.
The contractor, it was discovered, had been issued with the advance payment despite a failure to provide an advance bond as required by the contract. Further, an advance guarantee from an insurance company was provided instead of the required bank guarantee.
Though the Ministry of Education’s Permanent Secretary had attempted to explain that discrepancy was due to a design review, the AG had recommended that the payment be recovered and the contract terminated.
