Construction of runway extension to begin early 2013 – Hon. Pickering
According to Minister for Natural Resources and Labour Hon. Kedrick Pickering, who was addressing the House of Assembly (HOA) sitting on Tuesday July 24, 2012, the progress looks good thus far and they are on target for a ground breaking ceremony in early 2013.
He said he is encouraged by the number of interests that has come in so far from around the world for the project.
“The deadline for submission for the Expression of Interest (EOI) is July 25, 2012 and by that time we hope to have about 5 to 10 submissions, including a submission from the Government of Canada and interest has also been shown by the Government of China-through their international construction group operating in the Caribbean,” Dr. Pickering told the HOA.
The Minister further stated that following receipt of the EOI today, July 25, 2012, they will move into the prequalification stage where all the submissions are evaluated based on the criteria delineated in the EOI. “This process is expected to be completed by mid-August, 2012 at which time we hope to have about 3 companies that will stand out and receive secured access to the Request for Proposal (RFP) currently being developed. These organizations will, on September 24, 2012, return proposals for the Design, Financing and Construction of the Intermodal Transportation Facility which includes the Runway Extension, at Beef Island.”
He added that once evaluated and awarded, design and financial work will commence to produce detailed designs and put in place all financial arrangements for the entire development planned. “This Design work for the Runway extension is expected to be substantially completed by December 2012 facilitating commencement of the construction in early 2013 of the Runway Extension and in the first quarter of 2013- the completion of designs and commencement of construction for aircraft parking apron and passenger terminal building upgrade.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Pickering also outlined that they are in the process of putting together the Project Administration Team, the Project Steering Committee and an Environmental Management Committee to ensure that the project meets all environmental standards.
Furthermore, he revealed that the Ministry is currently working with the Town and Country Planning Department to ensure that all statutory requirements are met in a timely manner. “In this regard the recently completed Impact Assessment Study is being discussed and reviewed with the T&CP this week to ensure all the guidelines that were identified and approved by that department during the scoping study are adequately studied, investigated and mitigated.”
On June 29, 2012, in the HOA, Minister Pickering had announced that the final construction of the runway extension, which is expected to be completed by December of 2015, will be extended approximately 2000 feet eastward into the sea and approximately 500 feet towards the west.
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