THE Ministry of Education (MoE), on Tuesday, signed six contracts totaling $560.7 million for the re-construction of the St Mary’s High School, which will be built on its previous location on Brickdam.
The building will be a three-storey structure, with the upper flat containing 10 classrooms, the second floor will have another 12 classrooms along with teachers’ staffroom and sanitary block, and the lower flat will have six labs including for information technology, science and technology, home economics, and industrial technology.
There will also be a canteen and auditorium on the lower flat. The building will have the capacity to house approximately 600 students.
Like all of the secondary schools currently being built, the school will be equipped with several fire prevention systems including fire escape exits, escape doors, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers. The building design also incorporates limited timber usage, metal ceilings and fire retardant ceiling panels.
The work was separated into six lots to allow for faster completion, and is scheduled to be completed in six to seven months due to this.
The contracts for the rebuilding were signed at a brief ceremony held at the Ministry of Education’s boardroom, and was attended by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand; Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Alfred King, and Special Projects Officer at the ministry, Ron Eastman.
Lot one of the building, which covers the construction of the super structure, is valued at $286.194 million and was awarded to K&S General Construction Inc. The same company was also awarded Lot two – block works, which is valued at $135.59 million.
Additionally, lot three which includes plumbing works and lot five that encompasses external works, were both awarded to A. Ograsein and Sons General Contracting. These contracts are worth $12.97 million and $33.38 million, respectively.
Cummings Electrical Company Ltd was awarded the $25.868 million contract for lot four, which includes electric works, and R&D Engineering Services was awarded the $66.663 million contract for lot six, which encompasses finishing works.
The contracts for the St Mary’s Secondary follows the signing of contracts for the reconstruction of the Christ Church and St George’s Secondary Schools, both of which had been destroyed by separate fires.
In brief remarks during the signing ceremony, Minister Manickchand related that the signing of the contracts to see the realisation of the secondary school marked another step towards the ministry’s target towards achieving universal secondary education.
She said that over the last three years, the Ministry of Education has been working assiduously to achieve that goal by extending and rebuilding a number of secondary schools, while a number of new secondary schools are also being established.
