By Svetlana Marshall

THE Public Infrastructure Ministry is likely to complete Phase One of the Durban Park Project this weekend despite the inclement weather, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson has said.Minister Patterson and Chief Works Officer Geoffrey Vaughn, along with several other engineers, on Tuesday updated media operatives on the progress of the project. The project is moving apace,

with the spectator bleachers being approximately 96 per cent complete and the VIP stand 73 per cent complete.

Giving reporters another tour of the facility, Minister Patterson pointed to sections of Bleacher No 15 which were reinforced after the project was handed over to the Public Infrastructure Ministry.
Diagonal reinforcement was added to the bleachers for additional support, and as such, the lower half and the intermediate sections were strengthened.

Additionally, the base of the 200-foot flagpole was expanded not only for aesthetics, but for reinforcement purposes as well, in keeping with the specifications.

Once the bleachers and VIP Stand are completed, Minister Patterson said, the ground will be graded and shaped. The facility will then be handed over to the National Commemorative Committee.

“We would like to be out of here by this weekend, and hand everything over to the National Commemorative Committee; we are just the foot soldiers,” the minister declared.

President David Granger handed over responsibility of the project to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) in late April, following several complaints of substandard work being done by officials who were in charge. Some 300 persons have been employed to conduct work on the 30 stands.

The deadline set for completion of the stands and the entire project is May 12, two weeks before Independence Day. The outstanding works cover six areas, which are: roofing and remedial works for spectator bleachers; completion of superstructure, walls and roof for the VIP Stand; electrical wiring, lighting and power supply; access driveways and bridges; creation of sanitary facilities; and drainage works.