When leaders broke ground on the Huntums Ghut Economic Zone in October 2020, they said the project would include three commercial warehouses that would accommodate up to six businesses each.
But years of delays followed, and government announced on March 24 that the plans have now been altered and the project won’t be complete until the second quarter of next year.
“We had to revise and reduce the overall footprint of the project to allow for another business to operate,” said Duane Fraites, chief of infrastructure, planning, research and development in the Ministry of Communications and Works.
The initial scope — three one-storey warehouses — has been revised to two two-storey warehouses, Mr. Fraites explained in a March 24 press release issued by Government Information Services.
$550k contract
Following a tender process, Cabinet decided in October 2021 to award a nearly $550,000 contract to Accurate Construction to erect the buildings, the Cabinet Office announced at the time.
Since then, some work on the two planned warehouses has been completed, but more time is needed, according to Mr. Fraites.
“We anticipate the completion of the warehouses in June [2024],” he said, adding, “The progress of the buildings were severely impacted due to delays in the shipping of the building materials, among other challenges. Some of the challenges included a three-month delay as two of three containers arrived in June of 2022, with the final container arriving and clearing in November 2022.”
He added that the contractor also reported mobilisation challenges that further delayed the build, including being required to re-mobilise after the third container arrived.
Additionally, periodic inspections by the ministry required the contractor to make “much needed adjustments, during which it was observed that some of the materials did not come as specified and required adjustments to be made to ensure the structures would not be compromised,” according to the press release.
Roadway, parking lot
Despite the warehouse delays, however, sections of the roadway, walkway and parking areas were paved in the fourth quarter of 2021, government stated.
Following the completion of the warehouses, the road and walkway pavements will be completed; a new gazebo will be constructed; and the bathroom building will be renovated, government added.
Big plans
During the 2020 ground-breaking ceremony for the project, Deputy Premier Kye Rymer — whose Fifth District includes Huntums Ghut — said the concept was borrowed from the former Palm Grove Shopping Centre in Road Town, which was destroyed by Hurricane Irma and hasn’t been rebuilt.
At Palm Grove, he explained during the ceremony, Virgin Islanders were “able to own their own businesses at a fraction of the market value and the market operating costs, offering commercial spaces with no overhead.”
The entrepreneurs who use the planned Huntums Ghut facility, he said, ideally would eventually move up and seek larger accommodation, “thus creating room and space for new entrepreneurs to move in.”
He added at the time that the Economic Zone will also house a library and a food pantry.
“This would make available resources and food items for neighbours who have encountered hardship during these times,” he explained, adding, “This first-step programme for entrepreneurs is not a handout, but it’s a step up.”