BY ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net 

Work on the new National Reference Laboratory is ahead of schedule at 55 percent, and has an expected completion timeline of the end of the year, say government officials.

With renovations having begun on May 20 and an initial completion date of 12 months, the Project Execution Unit (PEU) at the Ministry of Health and Wellness yesterday announced renovations that will move the National Reference Laboratory into the former Bahamas Mortgage Corporation building on Russell Road, Oakes Field, are halfway completed.

Currently, drywall finishes are being taken out, tiling is in progress and plumbing and HVAC are being completed, according to Stafford Evans, a representative of Scorpio Construction Limited. The site will include six labs, sanitary grade infrastructure, stainless steel, touchless units.

“Like this is a medical facility, so it has to be up to par,” Valeria Evans project manager for Scorpio Construction Limited said.

“On the upper floor are offices that’s going to be tiled out. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is executing a nearly $2m contract with Bahamian company Scorpio Construction to transform the old Bahamas Mortgage Corporation building on Russell road into the new home of the National Reference Lab,” Gerard Symonette, PEU’s component lead, said. “The project was funded by the IDB and is a part of a broader initiative to strengthen public health infrastructure and medical services in The Bahamas. The upgraded facility will enhance the nation’s diagnostic testing capabilities and better support public health responses. The project is on schedule. Actually, it’s ahead of schedule, which means it’s at approximately 50, 55 percent, somewhere up in there. 

“Renovations began officially on May 20, 2025, and is scheduled for completion by late this year. The electrical rough-in is 95 percent complete on the first floor, 90 percent complete on the second floor, HVAC [air conditioning] rough-in 95 percent complete on the first floor, 75 percent on the second floor, plumbing is 100 percent complete, rough-in that is, on both floors. Fire safety systems are 60 percent, communication cabling, 95 percent on the first floor, 70 on the second floor. As far as exterior works are concerned, fire escape stairs are 100 percent formed. Elevator shaft skim coat is being completed. We’re also proud to report zero on-site incidents today, a reflection of the professionalism and skill of the Bahamian team leading this project.”

Donald Demeritte, the project lead for the Ministry of Health and Wellness IDB project Executing Unit, said the project is “supplemented by EU grant funding, and so it’s incumbent upon us to provide updates, environmental updates, project updates, because that’s part and parcel of our deliverables”. He also noted the partnership with Scorpio Construction Limited “is indeed a good one”.

“I beam with pride, because selecting a Bahamian contractor was uppermost in the government’s mind, uppermost in the project’s mind,” he said. “And we have another project closing tomorrow, and that’s for the Moore’s Island new clinic build, and we expect to have another Bahamian construction company named. And all of these projects are actually objectively reviewed, and so transparency is the order today. The names of the winners are published in all of the publications, and we’re glad that the press is a partner in this thing, so they can show that this IDB project executing unit is doing what we were actually contracted to do.”