The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE reconstruction of the fire-damaged male dormitory at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) in North Andros will likely take “two years” to complete, the establishment’s Director Dr Godfrey Eneas said yesterday.

Dr Eneas said the male dormitory, which was set on fire and completely destroyed in January 2015, will probably take a year-and-a-half to two years to complete because the government is seeking to construct a building that is larger than the original structure.

Dr Eneas also said the government is still seeking a quote for the cost of constructing the new male dormitory; however, he said the design for the new building has already been drawn up.

He also said that Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) has “just about completed” the electrification of the entire campus, and that “some landscaping” has commenced on site. He said the only delay is the completion of the female dormitory, which he said is underway but “not moving as fast as we would like for it to move”.

Nonetheless, Dr Eneas said officials still expect that construction on all of the buildings, with the exception of the male dormitory, to be fully complete by September.

Last month, Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray said he expects construction on all but one of the buildings at the North Andros site to be finished before the end of May. At the time, Mr Gray said the only exception to the May completion date would be the fire-damaged dorm.

He said repairs had not yet commenced due to the government planning the construction of “a larger building to house twice as many students” as the original structure.

When questioned for an update on the progress of construction, Dr Eneas said: “To construct the male dorm will probably take about two years because there’s been some expansion to it. It wouldn’t be the same size as the one that burned down, it’ll be a lot larger. But certainly we anticipate all of the (other) construction work to be completed for the September term. That is our goal.

“The campus has been electrified,” he added. “(BPL) has just about completed all of the electrification of the campus. The classroom block is ready for occupancy. I think they’re just waiting for the carpet to be placed in the administration building.

“The bid has been approved for the internal works, the roads and the landscaping. Some landscaping has been started. The only area that is slow at the moment is the completion of the female dorm. It is moving but it is not moving as fast as we would like for it to move.”

BAMSI is a major government initiative established in an effort to reduce the country’s reliance on food imports. The school opened to students in September 2014 even though the campus was not finished.

The fire-damaged dorm, which was constructed by contractor Audley Hanna of Paradigm Construction, sparked controversy when Works Minister Philip “Brave” Davis revealed that it was never insured.

Mr Davis had previously said in the House of Assembly that at the time of the fire, the contractor’s all-risk insurance policy had lapsed due to non-payment.

In July 2015, Mr Davis said the destroyed dormitory would not be repaired until all other BAMSI buildings had been completed.