–Minister Edghill tells National Assembly
MINISTER of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill on Thursday told the National Assembly that preliminary works on the state-of-the-art government complex were completed, and further works have commenced.
The minister made this disclosure in response to questions posed by Opposition Member of Parliament Annette Ferguson.
When asked about the progress of work at the site, Minister Edghill told the House that if anyone were to visit the site, it will be seen that the entire site has been cleared, while truckloads of sand were transported there to conduct landfilling.
He added: “All of the geotechnical boreholes have already been completed, [and] the soil sampling has already been completed. You would see the mobilisation of equipment on site.”
The contractor has also submitted his design, based on the new location and layout, and is awaiting approval from the supervisory consultant.
With this, he indicated that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been extremely careful when it comes to the management of the projects of this magnitude.
The Public Works Minister highlighted that the ministry has not just gone out for civil works contractors, but has also gone on to recruit the best possible skills to supervise the works that are being done.
He said: “So, all of the preliminary works that need to be done have been completed; the consultants have signed off on that. Those approvals will determine the procurement of the necessary materials.”
Earlier this year, the Public Works Minister had said that work which was set to begin on the $15.8 billion state-of-the-art government office complex would begin in the first quarter of this year.
This facility comes as the government continues along its path to modernise and transform the services of government agencies.
The modern office complex will comprise four towers, 12 storeys high, and with the capacity to accommodate around 6,000 staff.
The new government complex is being built with the aim of alleviating the hassle for citizens to travel to different ministries throughout Georgetown. It will meet the criteria to provide services to the public in the most effective way, without persons having to deal with congestion and parking issues.
