More government buildings being rejuvenated

The Quantity Surveyors (QS) Department of the Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance is moving to a newly renovated building in The Pine, St Michael following work that was completed within budget and on time, as part of the ministry’s Rejuvenation and Repair of Crown Properties Project.

Today, Minister of Housing Lands and Maintenance Dr William Duguid handed over the building at the Gate House, old Barbados Water Authority (BWA) Complex, to Minister in the Ministry of Water Resources Charles Griffith.

It was renovated at a cost of $230 000, Dr Duguid told members of the media.

He said the three-storey former BWA warehouse building, situated in the same complex, is next on the list.

Dr Duguid explained that the roof of the warehouse is being assessed before restoration begins on the building which will house the Drainage Unit of the Ministry of Transport Works and Water Resources.

“We are very happy with what the contractor has done and also the next one that I will be inviting you to very soon to is the Welfare building which is opposite the National Housing Corporation (NHC), Country Road. So, we have a lot of these buildings that we are renovating. You would also see the Supreme Court is progressing very well and I am very happy with what is going on there as well,” the Minister said.

The former Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) building at Vaucluse, St Thomas was also refurbished under the programme and has been handed over to the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

Meanwhile, Griffith, who received the keys to the QS Department building, said he was proud that the rejuvenation project which started when he was appointed to the Ministry of Housing had moved from planning stage to execution.

He said the newly renovated building which has been restored to pristine condition will provide much-needed space for the QS Department.

“One of the things that I am pleased about is what the Government is doing as it relates to being proactive with our buildings that are just lying idle. And I am hoping that this will also extend not only to these major buildings but we have some buildings at the community level that I too believe can be repurposed, not only for the community but also the third sector.

“There are some organizations in the third sector that are looking for homes and if we can find some of those buildings at community levels or around the country that we can repurpose, that those particular organizations can use as their home and bring benefit to the immediate community and the wider Barbados, then I think we would be doing a very good thing,” Griffith said. (AH)