The company building the new runway on Barbuda has reportedly left the project 80 percent complete and the government is blaming the Barbuda People’s Movement.
Government’s Chief of Staff Lionel Max Hurst says the government will be seeking to get back monies from BPM to complete the airstrip on the sister island.
He said when individuals backed by the BPM obtained an injunction on the project last year they had to have been aware of the cost to the state.
“We are looking at the possibility of ensuring that we get this 750,000 out of them, of course, we don’t believe they have such monies but we are going to seek it because; they are to have known that, that was the risk they were taking and therefore; they must be able to bear the cost”, Hurst says.
Bahamas Hot Mix was contracted to complete the airstrip on Barbuda but the project was riddled with problems from the beginning. In 2018, a High Court Judge ordered that construction work on the airport in Barbuda must immediately cease until further notice.
This was following an application from the Barbuda People’s Movement claiming the Department of Environment had warned the government of environmental risks, but the DCA and the ABAA went ahead with the development.
According to Ambassador Hurst, there were other factors that also contributed to the stoppage of work.
“The first factor is that we had the hurricane in September 2017 and that hurricane disrupted normalcy for about three months and they were not able to return to the point they were before the hurricane.”
The BHM was also commissioned to complete works on both the Friars Hill Road and Sir George Walter Highway.
Ambassador Hurst says they had asked them to bring over equipment from Barbuda to Antigua to see the commencement of work on the highway.
“BHM has decided to bring its equipment’s over to Antigua because they are also the firm that is working on the Friars Hill Road and Sir George Walter H
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Where on Earth did people from Barbuda come from?
LOL!!
Hmm.
Have all the holes under the runway been repaired? Is the runway signed off as aircraft safe ?
I believe the issue is that the law was not followed and the works started without proper investigation.
Big holes were found under the runway which BHM were trying to fix.
They were not aware of the holes before they started.
All the ground investigation should have been done by the govt BEFORE works started
The problem was caused by the person/s who went to Barbuda and mark on the ground where contractor was to clear without checking for holes.
Whoever allow that to happen need to bear the costs because not checking ground conditions before you start big work like this is one hell of a risk!
The work started a few days after the hurricane.
Not before.
All this blame and counter blaming by both sides does not help the fact that the runway is not finished, is not safe, and can’t be finished as the govt has no more money.
What has been created is a long white strip still with big holes under it.
Nobody has won.
Everybody has lost.
Seriously, can we just let Barbuda be their own independent country? The people there are weird and totally incapable of understanding rules, regulations, and finances. I’m fine with our country just being Antigua – let St. Kitts or some other place have Barbuda and their headaches.
At this rate, 100 years from now, Barbuda will still be at the same level or back to the days when Codrington leased land from the Crown. Even Redonda will be in a better position than the backward people brainwashed and led to the koolaid basin by Trevor Walker. Btw didn’t Trevor Walker give them until July 1, 2018 to return to their Dark Ages land??
When Barbudans will be SERIOUS about improving the Island ? I have not heard Barbudans are happy whenever the word DEVEOPLMENT is mentioned. The Prime Minister is on the right track. Barbuda cannot remain in this state. Improvement must take place. Trevor Walker owns The Supermarket , The only Gas Station on island. Please explain why Trevor Walker is against development when He is a business man. All this tells me that He wants all for Himself and Barbudans to remain as in the eighteenth century. Barbudans wake up The Hon. Gaston Browne is doing the best for Barbudans. Please support Him.
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