By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president yesterday estimated the property damage and loss caused by last week’s downtown Nassau fire as ranging from $5m to $10m.

Leonard Sands told Tribune Business he estimates the replacing the roof of Victoria Court alone could cost up to $2m, while the damage to multiple derelict buildings still would represent up to $300,000 in losses for the owners. It is unclear whether Victoria Court can be saved and rebuilt, or will have to be torn down.

“Nothing is more costly than a whole building that is still servicing the needs of people. I would estimate the damage at least upwards of $5m to $10m, that’s a conservative estimate. The roof of Victoria Court alone would’ve cost north of over $1.5m. Just the size and structure of it would be at least $1.5m to $2m.” said Mr Sands.

“The other buildings probably saw a net loss of about at least $250,000 to $300,000 each, and then, of course, when you add all of the structural damage and the contents in the units of Victoria Court...

Mr Sands said there is a lack of city planning in downtown Nassau due to the age of the area and its structures, and called for more comprehensive studies of emergency access routes to Bay Street and the installation of more fire hydrants throughout the city.

“We have Town Planning, we don’t have city planning. We’ve inherited a city that was never planned with access for fire engines. They would’ve been in the contemplation of persons if they had planned,” said Mr Sands.

“We need to create a plan so that when something just happens again, we can react differently. We can do an analysis of what buildings may have to be demolished in order to create access ways. Some infrastructure upgrades may be necessary to ensure that, in any block within the city, there is a fire hydrant in close proximity.”

Mr Sands added that, without a comprehensive plan for New Providence, fires could be more prevalent as urban areas are becoming more densely populated.

“You cannot find a master plan for the city of Nassau because it doesn’t exist. You can’t find a master plan for the island of New Providence because it doesn’t exist,” said Mr Sands.

“We are now 2025. We have a metropolis on an island, and we are seeing now the challenges of not having a planned city. I would go further to say not only could we expect more of the types of fires we saw on Bay Street, we could expect them to also happen in areas that are very densely populated.”

Mr Sands pointed to the importance of ensuring fire services can reach the downtown area as it houses the country’s two largest medical facilities. Any damage to those could cause a public health crisis.

He added that while the Davis administration is pushing for new investments in the downtown area, thought should also be put into city planning to ensure adequate infrastructure is in place to protect these projects.

“The Government’s going to take someone’s plan that they have for the city and approve or not approve it. They don’t think about what they’re going to need to do to ensure that this investment goes well. It’s the investor when they’re doing the project that usually realises things aren’t in place to facilitate, but it should be the other way around,” said Mr Sands.