SEVEN contracts totalling $688.159 million were signed, on Wednesday, for the rebuilding of the Christ Church Secondary School, which was destroyed by fire in January of this year.

The design of the new building will be within the footprint of the building that was destroyed, with the design for the new building being completed after a series of reviews.

The construction is expected to take approximately seven months overall, with some innovative engineering and consultancy services expected to take two to three months. Once completed, the building, which will measure 209 ft by 70 ft, will be three storeys high, with 20 classrooms and will have a capacity to accommodate between 450 – 520 students.

The new building will be fitted with science labs, Information Technology labs, new model classrooms, and accommodation for teachers

The contracts for the rebuilding were signed at a brief signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Boardroom, and was attended by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, MoE Permanent Secretary, Alfred King, and Chief Education Officer (CEO), Saddam Hussain, and Principal of Christ Church, Samantha Alleyne, along with the representatives from the respective contracting agencies.

The seven contracts for the rebuilding exercise are shared between five contractors, with the largest contract of $303.595 million being for Lot 1- the Construction of the sub-structure, this contract was awarded to BM Property Investment Inc. BM also has a $17.6 million contract for Lot 4, which covers the installation of plumbing, infrastructure, and fittings.

Lot 2, which is for the super structure, went to Zeco Group of Services Inc and is worth $295.138 million.

N. Balgobin and Sons Contracting Service and Electrical Supplies, was awarded the $41.939 million contract for Lot 3 – Installation of Electrical Infrastructure and Fixtures

Lot 5 – Installation of air conditioning infrastructure and units, is worth $10.745 million, and was awarded to A Ograsein and Sons General Contracting. A. Ograsein also has the contract for Lot 6 – Installation of Fire Prevention Units.

The final component, Lot 7 – Masonry and finishing work, which is for $12.386 million was awarded to Pantheon Construction Inc.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, the school Principal, Alleyne, expressed how elated she was to see this first step in the realisation of a new school for her students.

“It’s the beginning of an exciting journey to see the contracts being signed and in the shortest possible time the students would be able to go back into the school that they know,” Alleyne shared.

The displaced Christ Church students are currently being housed, temporarily, at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), in Turkeyen on the East Coast Demerara. Alleyne explained that while the extended distance has affected the students, the school has tried to be accommodating by readjusting the time-table timings.

“One of the challenges has been for the students to reach up there on time so what we have had to do is readjust our timetable, so instead of 9:00hrs they are going for 9:30hrs. So we’ve had to adjust our time right through the day, but they have been adjusting reasonably well and they are happy for the space, because now they have a larger area,” Alleyne related.