The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE reconstruction of the fire-damaged dorm at the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Sciences Institute will likely be fully completed by September, Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray has said.

Mr Gray, in a recent interview, said he has been advised that a contract has been issued for the reconstruction of the dorm, and that the reconstruction process should likely take “between six and eight months.” He said while he is not sure whether construction has started, all of the “groundwork” is finished.

Mr Gray also said construction on the other buildings at the North Andros site is about “98.99 per cent complete,” and that he expects construction on the rest of the buildings to be completed by the end of this month.

He also said that the unavailability of the fire-damaged dorm “did not impact in any way the smooth running of the school.”

“So there have been no classes, no student who was not able to be accommodated,” he said. “So everything is normally operational and we look forward to that position continuing.

He added: “The rest of BAMSI is about 98.99 per cent complete. I think the rest of the buildings will be completed by the end of March. That’s the deadline we have, and I’m looking forward to with tip-toe anticipation to that completion at the end of March.”

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 institute held its first graduation ceremony on July 7 of last year, graduating some 23 students.

The fire-damaged dorm, which was constructed by contractor Audley Hanna of Paradigm Construction, sparked controversy when Minister of Works and Urban Development 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.