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During the recent Cabinet meeting, the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), the Ministry of Works, and a representative from C.O. Williams Construction were invited to address the pressing issues related to the ongoing repair of roadways and the installation of new water pipes.
C.O. Williams Construction, the winning bidder for the repair of Anchorage Road, Fort James Road, and other rural roads in Antigua, initially quoted XCD63.49 million for the project.
However, due to increased material costs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and weather-related delays, the contractor has requested an increase in the project cost.
The government’s consultant has reviewed the cost escalation and deemed a portion of it unreasonable, leading to ongoing discussions between the government and the contractor to reach a fair resolution.
On the water infrastructure front, APUA provided an update stating that the water plant at Ffryes is anticipated to be operational by December 2024.
Once completed, the plant is expected to contribute an additional 2 million gallons of water to the island’s daily supply.
The Director of Public Works acknowledged the responsibility for the state of disrepair of the roads, emphasizing the need for additional operational machines.
Currently, only one barber-green machine is operational, but efforts are underway to repair additional machines to resume construction work.
The Director also stressed the requirement for at least two more engineers with design skills to effectively address the infrastructure challenges.
The meeting concluded with plans being agreed upon for preventative maintenance.
What is a good time it’s about time it’s about time was suffering the water situation. On all the roads need working on and most of them need fixing and something building up
Time to fire the COW! It has clearly demonstrated its ability to deliver what he has been asked to for over a decade. Case in point that stretch of road leading from Sprugoo’s Service station all the way east to Willikies. As fast as they fix it, they dig it back up again. Time to replace the COW. We couldn’t lose.
Finally some work is being done to the roads
Hurrah for finally making me believe that some concern on the way the public’s money is being spent is of concern to you!
Better late than never.
I always wondered if the real cost, the actual construction and timely finished of these projects were ever monitored, from the seen results and unfinished looks of most of these millions of dollars projects?
Ffryes Hill road and the seemily never ending construction on Sir Sydney Wallings Highway are two examples of unsatisfactory …, in my view.
We deserve better than that.
The government need to get rid of C.O Williams. They have done a horrible job on roads for many years, and waiting the people’s money. Look at fries hill road by Woods. The road is in a horrible state already. Too much corruption in the road works. The Chinese can do a great work on building roads, I have seen this on many countries around the world. Get the Chinese to build the roads. They are the best in everything they do. Look on the internet and see the great achievements they have done on bridges and roads in China.