By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

IT will cost almost $57 million to repair government buildings and infrastructure damaged or destroyed during the passage of Hurricane Joaquin, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced yesterday.

During his contribution in the House of Assembly, Mr Christie said that included in this figure is the government’s plan to elevate the road in Acklins by five feet.

Last month, Mr Christie said the amount needed to cover the cost of the hurricane recovery and repair phase is likely to be funded through borrowing from either the Caribbean Development Bank, financing from the People’s Republic of China or by other traditional sourcing.

“Repairs to government buildings in Crooked Island are estimated at $255,051.84. The total cost of repairs to infrastructure in Crooked Island has been estimated at $3,374,187.14. The repairs to government buildings in Clarence Town in Long Island, for the administrative complex and various clinics, are an estimated $682,581.32,” Mr Christie said.

“Repairs to the docks at Clarence Town, Salt Pond and Simms and other infrastructure, including seawalls and roads are estimated to cost $2,940,952.27. In Rum Cay it will cost $1,321,384.63 to repair roads, airport repairs, dock replacement and the reconstruction of a concrete boat ramp. In San Salvador, repairs to public buildings are estimated at $830,000, which includes the police station, the administration buildings and the Grahams Harbour Fish Fry and the recreational buildings at Grahams Harbour. The infrastructure costs are estimated at $1,445,016.41 with the principal costs being attributed to the resurfacing of the Grahams Harbour Dock. This island-by-island summary would give us a fair idea of the cost involved for the restoration of government buildings and infrastructure in the areas affected by the passage of Hurricane Joaquin.

“The total government buildings and infrastructure comes in at $56,483,471.47. If we subtract the Acklins roadwork at the five feet elevation, and go with the roadwork at existing elevation then the total revised costs comes in at $34,398,124.25.”

Mr Christie said the government is concentrated on recovery and reconstruction, which he said will be “considerably challenging.”

Hurricane Joaquin battered the central and southern Bahamas on October 1 and 2, destroying homes and buildings and leaving severe flooding in its wake.

In October, the prime minister announced that an estimated 836 homes were completely destroyed by the category four hurricane.

Mr Christie said based on information from the Department of Social Services, Hurricane Joaquin wiped out 413 homes in Long Island, 227 houses in San Salvador, 123 homes in Acklins, 50 houses in Crooked Island and 23 residences in Rum Cay.

Yesterday the prime minister said that so far, the National Emergency Management Agency has spent $392,382 in building materials for urgent home repairs. He said there is now on order “additional building material in the same quantity and dollar value to follow that which has already been shipped”.