The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

STATE Minister for Works and Urban Development Arnold Forbes yesterday refused to give a firm date for the complete opening of the  Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute but vowed that the controversial venture would be the “marquee project” of the present government.

Mr Forbes explained that since taking over the post in early January the ministry has taken “steps in the right direction” to ensure that once BAMSI is fully completed it can positively affect the nation’s growing demand on imported food sources.

Mr Forbes claimed that the government has not determined an “exact date” for the complete opening of the North Andros project. He said that date is still being worked out by the government.

“I don’t know that off-hand,” said the Mount Moriah representative. “I don’t want to give a firm date because you meet all sorts of challenges. But the school will be opened in due time.”

On January 15, a massive fire gutted the male dormitory at BAMSI. Following the blaze, officials in the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Agriculture gave mixed answers in the face of questions about the building’s insurance.

Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray initially told The Tribune that he was unsure if the building was insured, while Ministry of Works Permanent Secretary Colin Higgs was quoted as confirming that the building had insurance coverage.

In February, Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis told parliamentarians that the building was not insured at the time of the fire because the contractor, Audley Hanna of Paradigm Construction, allowed the policy to lapse due to non-payment. However, two months later Mr Davis announced that the $2.6 million structure had never had all-risk insurance coverage. He also revealed that the government would incur $3m in additional costs to rebuild the dormitory due to ordinary inflation, Value Added Tax (VAT) expenses, and the government’s decision to reconfigure the units from single to double occupancy.

The original construction cost of the dormitory was around $2.5m.

While the government has never given a firm cost for construction of the entire BAMSI project some estimates place the value of the overall venture well over $50m.

Mr Gray has, in the past, called BAMSI the brainchild of Prime Minister Perry Christie and admitted that the government has pumped great financial resources into making the institute a success.

“I believe that we will be successful (with BAMSI) and I believe that BAMSI will be successful for all Bahamians,” Mr Forbes said. “It is a lot of work but I believe that BAMSI will be the marquee project of this government.”