Construction on the Mosquito Research and Control Unit’s new hangar at Owen Roberts International Airport has restarted after the contract was re-tendered and awarded to Edgewater Development Ltd.
The development comes after Hadsphaltic Ltd, the initial contractor on the project, went into bankruptcy and the Cayman Islands Government cancelled that contract – which was for $3,998,273.79 – on 7 August, 2010. The Government is still seeking to claim the mobilisation fee paid to that company, which is about $400,000 or roughly 10 per cent of the initial contract.
According to government officials in the Ministry of District Administration, discussions about wether the matter will be subject to litigation are continuing.
Mosquito Research and Control Unit Director Bill Petrie explained some of the scope involved in the project moving forward.
“To begin with, the new contractors had to assess the building and check out the steel, as it has been sitting there for almost a year now. This has been done now and they are currently going into the meat of the work. We also had to pour fill to raise the height of the facility to 10 feet above seawater.
“The belting was poured last Friday and the steel beams for the roof, as well as the doors, which are a big deal, are on Island, though there is some work to be done before they are installed.”
The director added that he was eager to see the roof go on, as it would mean that the mosquito plane could begin to be stored in the hangar instead of along Bobby Thompson Way in the event of a hurricane.
“We have to drive the plane to that location and my heart is always in my mouth every time the plane has to make a sharp left turn at the light.”
According to the project manager for the hangar project, Nyasha Ross, more than 40 per cent of the work has been completed.
Mr. Petrie said the cost of the total project should be about $5 million after everything is done, but he pointed out that he is not as familiar with the numbers as before: “The client departments are not involved with finances as they used to be.”
He added that there is about $1 million allocated for the project in the new budget and there is still some money left over in the old budget for the project as well.
“I am pleased that we have got the new contractors on the job, there is some money in the budget for it and things are back on track after the collapse of Hadsphaltic,” he said.
The 12,403-square-foot hangar is meant to be an all-purpose facility that would house aircraft, a workshop, paint shop, offices and bonded storage, which is important for aircraft parts, Petrie said.
“The plan is for there to be a stand-alone pesticide storage and a mixing plant, a loading area for the plane, as well as a collection pan to stop any contamination from toxic chemicals used in our operations. It will be hurricane-rated and protect our aircrafts and generators,” he said.
The facility will replace the old MRCU hangar, which was condemned after sustaining heavy damage during Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
Since that time, the MRCU has been working out of a small trailer and a temporary hangar.
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