Infrastructure Minister Stephenson King says government is moving expeditiously to complete road repairs on the Millennium Highway despite some technical delays affecting the course of progress on the worksite.
Referring specifically to road maintenance works being undertaken on the Millennium Highway at Cul de Sac, he said this has been a cause for concern in both the government and public domain.
The agreement to embark on the road maintenance project was signed between 2018 to 2019, and the project was scheduled to be completed by March this year.
Works on the Millennium Highway is being implemented through a United Kingdom (UK) grant with terms and conditions applicable. However, all does not appear too well with the progress of the ongoing works and the authorities are calling on the contractors to ‘buckle up’ and expedite the project.
Echoing the sentiments of Prime Minister Philip J Pierre, the infrastructure minister too is displeased with the current “state of the road” in terms of the “implementation rate”. C.O. Williams are the main contractors for the project; the delivery date for completion of the project has expired.
“We have spoken to the CDB and we have made some changes in terms of the project management approach. There are weekly meetings with the CDB, Infrastructure (ministry), consultants and the project management team,” King told reporters, Monday, aside the weekly cabinet of ministers meeting.
“But that does not seem to be working in terms of further expediting the process … or to at least reduce on the lag time that we have encountered,” he added. “Because of that, the government is now contemplating what are the options. Can we continue with the contractor, does the grant loan agreement allow us to disengage …and if we were to proceed with dis-engagement, meaning termination of the contract, what are the implications considering that the project is not funded by the Government of Saint Lucia.”
King explained the only component of the project which is funded locally entails matters dealing with “land acquisition and relocation of residents along the way.”
He said the UK grant comes with applicable terms and conditions, and “if we are to take any action to ensure the delivery of the project within a shorter period of time …and based on the timeline they have given now is March 2024 , we have indicated to them in no uncertain terms will we tolerate navigating that road based on the conditions that we have been experiencing over the last two or three years and that cannot continue.”
However, said King, government has to look at other options of removing or possibly terminating the contract and proceeding “probably with the appointment of a new contractor. But, if we go that way to appoint a new contractor, what are the conditions? Do we have to go through the procurement process again, which will take months.”
According to the minister, “It is really a sad situation for such an important piece of work … and we are on the verge of starting the second phase of that project, which is the West Coast Road that is part of the overall grant agreement between the British government and ourselves.”
King said government is still contemplating how to approach the situation, and “the attorney general is presently looking at the loan agreement, looking at the UK /CIF grant agreement and then for us to make a very informed, but safe decision as not to jeopardize the relationship between the United Kingdom and Saint Lucia, or to probably lose the balance of the funding.”