The construction of the new St George’s Secondary School which was supposed to be completed this month is way behind schedule.
When the $253.8m project was launched in June last year, its completion period was given as five to seven months.
The superstructure is in place and blockworks are underway as evident from a visit by Stabroek News to the site on Saturday.
In July of 2022 the school which is located along Company Path between North Road and Church Street was ravaged by fire. A month later the fire was determined to be of electrical origin, the Guyana Fire Service had said.
As a result, the students of St George’s were placed in different schools within their respective communities and around Georgetown.
In June of 2023 six contracts were signed for the rebuilding of the school. The signings were part of a novel attempt under the Education Ministry to speed up works by having multiple contractors instead of assigning the entire contract to one company.
The new school is expected to be equipped with fire prevention characteristics such as fire escape stairs, escape doors, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, limited timber usage, metal ceilings and fire-retardant panels.
During the contract signing in June last year, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Alfred King stated that the total project cost is $253.8m.
The contracts awarded are as follows:
Lot -1 Construction of Superstructure – BM Property Investment Inc. – $113,943,900.00
Lot -2 Block Works – BM Property Investment Inc. – $59,989,500.00
Lot -3 Plumbing Works – A. Ograsein & Sons General Contracting – $9,651,970.00
Lot -4 Electrical Works – Cummings Electrical Company Ltd. – $18,720,592.00
Lot -5 External Works – Superior Supplies & General Construction – $22,472,560.00
Lot -6 Finishing Works – Superior Supplies & General Construction – $29,052,600.00
King said that the upper flat will feature 12 classrooms. The lower flat will accommodate six laboratories including the Information Technology, Home Economics and Industrial Technology laboratories.
