By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

IT will cost about $110m to restore water and electricity services to all of Abaco, Works Minister Desmond Bannister said Friday.

Of this, the cost to the Water and Sewerage Corporation could range from $15m to $20m while the cost to Bahamas Power and Light will be between $80m to $90m, he said, noting officials haven't completed their assessments and may find new issues on the ground.

He made the revelation during an event announcing the contract signing between the Ministry of Works and four private companies to clean up Abaco's shanty towns, which remain covered in rubble. The value of the contracts were not revealed.

"Before you start asking the director about the amount of the contracts, these contracts are based on rates that are set generally by this ministry," Mr Bannister said. "They are set for people to work for a specific time, they bring in certain types of equipment and the contracts are based on the rates and the ministry will be supervising and ensuring that persons work for those rates. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong ideas in respect to what we are doing."

According to Director of Works Melanie Roach, the companies awarded contracts include J&G Pavers to clean up the Sand Bank shanty town, Big Cat to clean up two Treasure Cay shanty towns, Bill Simmons Construction Heavy Equipment for the Pigeon Peas and Caribbean Pavement for the Mudd.

As the rubble is cleared, Mr Bannister stressed people will have to keep their curiosity at bay.

"The contractors who are here today are highly experienced companies," he said. "They have equipment that is available and not just one piece of equipment but they have the kind of equipment that is needed. They are highly professional and we need that with the delayering exercise that has to go on. They are going to work in conjunction with the police and the Ministry of the Environment. They will be working professionally, meticulously and working with sensitivity. All precautions will be taken so that once these areas are cleared nobody will be get back in there. Areas are going to be fenced and all precautions are going to be taken in relation to the public safety issues. We want to urge everybody to understand that their curiosity will not be able to get the better of them and they will not be able to access the work sites and they ought not to try. We have a full time presence in Abaco, Grand Bahama and we expect to have a permanent presence on the ground in Abaco very soon."

As for the challenges restoring water and electricity services, he said: "Water and Sewerage has been inundated in Abaco with issues in respect to their storage, with respect to production and distribution. They are testing water on a daily basis and there are some challenges as you would expect when you have salt water come up to levels that salt has come up in those communities. They have to provide safe drinking water. Cabinet has made provision for financing at a particular level that they have indicated that they need on a preliminary basis and we anticipate that the funding will be released."

"In Abaco we have a power plant in Wilson City which is south of Marsh Harbour. Much of the damage to the infrastructure, the electrical infrastructure in Abaco came in the central areas. BPL has brought in a temporary power solution to power south Abaco. They are seeking to have that power turned on today. They sought to do it yesterday and had a few glitches, but we expect that south of Wilson City will be powered as of today or tomorrow. The challenges to the north are more complex and the challenges in the cays are very complex. When one looks at the grid in Abaco, BPL will be seeking to create a number of mini grids, micro grids so we can seek to power some of the cays. There are some entities in those cays that have pledges to assist the government. In the Marsh Harbour area we will seek to build back with more resilience that involves being able to change the type of poles that we put down. I believe we have class three poles there now and we are going to seek to put class one poles like they did in Grand Bahama. We are also going to put in a number of other measures from Wilson City to Marsh Harbour and then we are looking from Marsh Harbour to the distribution centres and transmission we’ll be looking at a number of underground conduits to protect the manner in which power is generated."

Works Minister Desmond Bannister said J & G Pavers, Big Cat, Bill Simmons Construction Heavy Equipment and Caribbean Pavement are highly experienced companies.

Mr Bannister said: “They have equipment that is available and not just one piece of equipment, but they have the kind of equipment that is needed. They are highly professional, and we need that with the delayering exercise that has to go on.

“They are going to work in conjunction with the police and the Ministry of the Environment. They will be working professionally, meticulously and working with sensitivity.”

He added: “All precautions will be taken so that once these areas are cleared nobody will be get back in there. Areas are going to be fenced and all precautions are going to be taken in relations to the public safety issues.”

When asked about the price tag of the contracts, the minister said these contracts are based on rates that are set generally by this ministry.

Mr Bannister said: “They are set for people to work for a specific time, they bring in certain types of equipment and the contracts are based on the rates.

“And the ministry will be supervising and ensuring that persons work for those rates. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong ideas in respect to what we are doing.”

Melanie Roach, Director of Public Works, said the contractors have a maximum of three months to complete their work.

She said: “We would of course have to re-evaluate that based on what they find when they get on the ground. As we progress, we will determine whether or not it needs to be extended.

“J & G Pavers they will be doing the clean-up in Sand Bank. Big Cat will be doing the two farm settlements shanty towns in the Treasure Cay area. Bill Simmons Construction Heavy Equipment will be cleaning up the Pigeon Peas and Caribbean Pavement they are responsible for the Mudd.”