A $3.5 million-dollar contract to reconstruct Harrold Road may be awarded to an Argentinean company, the only firm to qualify, according to Minister of Public Works and Utilities, Bradley Roberts.
The Harrold Road Project will involve the provision of dual lanes, with full reconstruction of the existing carriageway, from Baillou Hill Road to the Sir Milo Butler Highway.
The tender and construction offer was intended for Bahamians, Mr Roberts said, but no local firm qualified.
The construction was to have been included in a massive
$52 million-dollar New Providence Road Improvement Project contract held by the Canadian firm, Associated Asphalt, Ltd.
However, work came to an abrupt halt in July 2002, when the company declared bankruptcy. The completion of the new Gladstone Road and traffic light accounted for 20 percent of the agreed work.
The Harrold Road re-tendering and award process was to have been completed this month, with work expected to begin in May.
It had also been expected that the newly-selected contractor would have been mobilized in time for planned improvements to Prince Charles Drive Drive, with completion expected by June of this year.
With respect to hiring the Argentine firm, Mr. Roberts said Sunday, "Two things will happen. One, negotiate with them, and if we are successful we will give them the contract. If we are not successful in our negotiations, we will have to go back to the tenders."
The Works Ministry will not make the same mistake that it made last year, Mr. Roberts said, as the "painful" incident forced the Government to pay a hefty price for supplied materials, services, and other contract settlement costs.
"One would have thought that after all the new diligence that one would have made some serious, safe devices to ensure that the correct firm was selected, and that the chances of the company going bankrupt would have been very minimal. Instead, obviously something happened and put a kink in the arm of the project," he said.
The redesign should reduce traffic accidents and improve the movement of traffic along Harrold Road, especially for motorists taking the southern route, Mr. Roberts said.
The work will include: Reconstruction of approximately 1.5 miles of the existing two lanes, and construction of two additional lanes on the north side of the existing carriageway; construction of two roundabouts; 3 miles of service road at the Sir Milo Butler Highway/Bethel Avenue junction, and another at Yellow Elder Way and Harrold Road; street lights installation; and provision and maintenance of traffic management throughout the construction and landscaping process.
The project is slated for completion in December, 2004, Mr Roberts said in an earlier interview.
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
