There is an initial sum in the 2008 budget of 28 million dollars which is a small amount for the huge public sector development programme which the Ministry of Infrastructure in Anguilla is embarking on from this year. That figure can in no way meet the cost of the planned work so the Government will be borrowing the extra money needed to finance the projects.

The Minister of Infrastructure, the Hon. Kenneth Harrigan and Chief Engineer, Bancroft Battick, have been speaking to The Anguillian about four of the projects. They are a five-star Government Administration Building, an ultra-modern Terminal and Multi-purpose Building at Blowing Point Harbour, a new road development project taking in the Valley area and its immediate outskirts and a Deep Water Harbour at Corito.

In announcing these projects, the Minister expressed gratitude to Permanent Secretary Larry Franklin, Chief Engineer Bancroft Battick and Roads Engineer, Nigel Connor and others for their valuable support.

Mr. Battick observed that for a number of years Government had been spending large sums to rent office accommodation for various departments. The expenditure for 2007 alone is expected to be well in excess of one million EC dollars. As a result Government is securing the services of a consultant. “The terms of reference have been prepared by the Department of Infrastructure and sent out,” Battick reported. “We have received applications from four companies…and recommendations have been made to the Tenders Board. We are now waiting for the Board to make a decision.”

Mr. Bancroft Battick

He went on: “We have to make sure that this is a five-star office accommodation building, one of the best, if not the best in the Caribbean. I make no apology for saying this because right now Government does not have a showpiece building and this is going to be a showpiece building that all of us will be proud of… We are making sure that we have wide consultation with all the stakeholders not only in Government but our clients also. The priority will be targeting those employees who are presently located in rental accommodation. We will have them move out first so that we can stop paying rent.

“It will be done on a phased basis. It will be a number of connected buildings…One of the problems is that we do not have any large virgin space to put down one building so more than likely there will be a demolition of some of the old and eyesore buildings. One example is the existing Ministry of Finance Building which is just an ugly box.

“Within the next few weeks we are hoping that a consultant will be chosen and from there on we will move straight into the design and construction. It is going to take a lot of discussions and negotiations among all the stakeholders including heads of department, permanent secretaries and down to all other levels of the service. It won’t be easy but we have to do it because the longer that we delay this project we will be paying enormous amount of rent and so it is one of the most important projects for Government.”
The aim of the consultancy is to develop a master plan for the project. It is estimated that a 70,000-square-foot building should be able to accommodate the increasing number of departments, offices and staff for a considerable length of time. Such a building can cost in the region of ten million US dollars according to preliminary estimates.

Mr. Battick was asked about the location for the building. “We are looking at the area between Lands and Surveys going south to the road by the police station, then north to the road by Inland Revenue, down to the Cable and Wireless fence, then near Social Security, across to the Post Office and back to Lands and Surveys,” he replied.

Battick believes that if everything goes as planned, the Evaluation Team, of which he is a member, can have a signed contract by the end of this month –January, the design drawings can be available by June and the groundbreaking done by July.

The four companies bidding for the consultancy are based in Trinidad, the British Virgin Islands, Barbados and Anguilla. One of the Government’s requirements, in the terms of reference, is that all the regional companies must have Anguillian partners.

As regards, the new Terminal Building to be built at Blowing Point, Battick recalled that Jacobs Consultancy of Trinidad was in Anguilla last year when they presented the initial design plans. Having received the necessary feedback, the consultants prepared a report for Government with two options for the building, one providing for incoming and outgoing wings for passengers and this is the preferred option. The master plan may be completed next month with the actual design for the building coming later in the year.

A contractor may be secured between June and August, making it possible for construction work to commence shortly afterwards.

In commenting on this project, Mr. Harrigan, the Minister of Infrastructure, appealed to landowners in Blowing Point to cooperate with Government in its desire to acquire the necessary land for the Terminal Building. Mr. Battick joined in asking them to be nationalistic and reasonable. “The building is of national importance. We have completed the pier development on the sea side and now we want to develop the land side to complement what is there so that we can have a building we can be proud of,” Battick said.

The Chief Engineer reported that surveys to determine the profile of the seabed at Corito, on the island’s south coast had already been undertaken to facilitate dredging for the deep water harbour. The work was done by Greg Hutchinson of Barbados.

Battick said consultants were now being sought for the design work for the project and should be received by February. The aim is to have a consultant by May to begin the design of the deep water harbour.

“This is one of the Government’s top priority projects…It is going to cost close to fifty million dollars,” he added.

The next project on which Government is shortly going to embark is the development of the Valley road network. “This is long overdue because it is the heart of the country,” Battick stated. “Whereas West End is the bread basket, this is the centre of commerce and government offices. We are securing the services of a consultant to design the entire loop which is from the Carter Rey Boulevard at the stop light to the North Side Road, but we also want to include the Mahogany Tree Road from the traffic light there across to Cannon Ball and back to the stop light at the Carter Rey Boulevard roundabout, and also some interior roads.

“The aim is to ensure that at the end of the day there is a comprehensive Valley development road. We will be looking at things like sidewalks for pedestrian access and some sort of ‘street-scaping’. For example, the main road will have a central island which will separate the northern and southern traffic… and we are looking at a comprehensive drainage system and a central sewage system.”

There is evidently a lot of work to be done by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the hope is that it will all be accomplished as planned.

Hon. Kenneth Harrigan

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