The completion of the new Christ Church Secondary School is 10 months behind schedule with major work still to be done. February this year had been given as the initial month for completion.
This delay has imposed a considerable burden on students and their families, who now face lengthy commutes to the out-of-town Cyril Potter College of Education(CPCE) location. Despite these ongoing issues, the government has not provided any recent updates on the project’s completion date. Parents have expressed growing concerns to Stabroek News regarding the rising transportation costs to them.
The reconstruction of Christ Church Secondary School began in 2023 and was initially scheduled for completion by February 2024.
Parents and students are facing several challenges, particularly the financial strain caused by the daily commute. One parent remarked, “We’re spending so much more on transportation now, and it’s becoming unmanageable since we’re traveling from the west side.”
Students also have to congregate in large numbers in the afternoon at the junction of UG Road and the East Coast Highway to try to catch buses.
Moreover, the extended commutes are affecting students’ academic performance, through reduced study time and diminished participation in after-school activities. Furthermore, parents have voiced concerns about the impact on their household budgets. “The extra cost wasn’t something we anticipated, and it’s unfair to families who are already struggling,” shared another parent.
Contracts for the new Christ Church Secondary School were signed in June 2023 for a total of $688.1 million, with a projected duration of seven months. Seven companies were awarded contracts, each responsible for different aspects of the project. This approach, the first of its kind for such a significant project, was intended to expedite the completion of the school.
The contracts included:
Lot 1: BM Property Investment Inc. for Sub-Structure construction at $303,595,000.
Lot 2: Zeco Group of Services Inc. for Super-Structure construction at $295,137,706.
Lot 3: N. Balgobin & Sons Contracting Service & Electrical Supplies for Electrical Infrastructure & Fixtures installation at $41,938,500.
Lot 4: BM Property Investment Inc. for Plumbing Infrastructure and Fixtures installation at $17,600,000.
Lot 5: A. Ograsein & Sons General Contracting for Air Conditioning Infrastructure and Units installation at $10,745,000.
Lot 6: A. Ograsein & Sons General Contracting for Fire Prevention Units installation at $6,759,000.
Lot 7: Pantheon Construction Inc. for Masonry and Finishing Work at $12,385,800.
When asked during a press conference in May this year if the Christ Church building would be ready for the September school term, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand hedged, stating that she was not an engineer and could not predict with certainty whether the project would be completed for the new term. However, she noted that some parts of the construction process involve prefabricated materials, which could be installed quickly, potentially allowing for a rapid completion.
“I’m not an engineer. But sometimes what happens is because some of it is prefab off site, you could change from 35 to 80% in a week because you brought your prefab stuff and put it on, I’m not sure what is remaining. So, I want to be careful with saying it can’t finish for September, but I’m happy the contractors are seeing the wider public is interested in how they perform and is insisting that they perform according to contract,” she said.
On January 12, 2023, fire struck the Camp and Middle streets school building displacing 502 students, 39 teachers and 9 ancillary staff. The Guyana Fire Service after its investigation had concluded that the fire was an act of arson and had several points of origin.
Regarding the approach of awarding contracts to multiple companies for the same project, Manickchand in May acknowledged that it has not resulted in the anticipated speed-up of completion. However, she expressed a desire to revisit this approach, citing the potential benefits of having multiple contractors working simultaneously on different aspects of the project.
