The Halls of Justice, a long-awaited project, is set to become a reality.
According to the government, it has reached a historic agreement with Themis LTD, a subsidiary of NH International, to construct the Halls of Justice, an initiative which took over a decade in the making and only after extensive multi-stakeholder consultation.
The two entities signed a Build Own Lease Transfer (BOLT) agreement for the Halls of Justice on April 19, 2024. NH International is the contractor under the BOLT agreement.
The island’s judiciary, for years, has grappled with inadequate and inconvenient spaces scattered throughout the city.
NH International is an experienced construction firm based in Trinidad & Tobago. It boasts a successful track record in Saint Lucia. Notably, they were responsible for building the main branch of the Bank of Saint Lucia on Bridge Street and the Financial Administrative Centre at Pointe Seraphine in Castries.
According to the government here are the facts of the BOLT agreement between itself and Themis LTD:
• The total project cost is set at a fixed price of EC $143 million
• Themis LTD will finance 100% of the project costs
• The project cost includes office furniture, filling systems and ICT systems
• The Government of Saint Lucia is not required to guarantee loan financing for the project
• Upon completion of the structures, the Government of Saint Lucia will enter into a lease agreement for the facilities, for a period not exceeding 12 years.
• At the end of the lease period, ownership of the Halls of Justice will be transferred to the Government of Saint Lucia at a price of EC $1
• The Government of Saint Lucia will own a new asset and substantially reduce its annual rental payments.
The government states that the terms of the BOLT agreement with Themis LTD are highly favourable for the government as it will not assume any financial risks and will not incur any new debt related to the project.
Further more, that the Halls of Justice will accommodate three judicial divisions: The criminal division, the civil division and the family division. The facility will consist of 14 courtrooms, six Magistrate chambers, nine Judge’s chambers, 11 witness rooms, 10 administrative offices, a law library, one 26-seater conference room, one police post, holding cells and a high-security defendants dock in the criminal court.
And that the first phase of the construction works will start in earnest. The anticipated completion date of the Halls of Justice project is two years from the start of construction. The new Halls of Justice will centralize the civil, criminal and family courts in one convenient and secure location in the capital.
In todays world $143Million is not an insurmountable cost for a project lucratively, judging of course the sight where its chosen to be located; I have no doubt that the Contractors are very capable to deliver a world class office building in accordance with the Design and cost, but it is my opinion that much could be saved with a different location relatively within Castries. May I suggest the site of the demolished old ‘Royal Jail’ just beyond the Castries River on Bridge Street, would have been a very lucrative location for that construction. That spot is original Soil, not reclaimed ground like Castries central, no cost for the demolition of any existing Building which can be in use while construction is going on else where, no cost for rental of other places for two years or more. If that or another site is not chosen, the disruption right there in the Heart of the City with demolition, the moving out of waist material and soil, and the moving in of construction material, the parking of Truck loads, not one, of many Trucks at a time. I am concerned at the disruption of any ‘Religious Services at the Roman Catholic Cathedral’ while heavy Duty Machinery is performing its contractual duties while pouring Concrete, if you were to stop, the Concrete could harden and then unusable and dumped – a loss of time, planning and scheduling is crucial in any construction irrespective. Its not too late to move the Site, save some money, less disruption in Castries Centre; Remember the Holy Cathedral next door.