Pictured Above —- Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance, Dr. William Duguid (left), presents the keys to The Gatehouse to Minister in the Ministry of Water Resources, Charles Griffith, today. The Gatehouse is the second building restored under Government’s Rejuvenation Programme. ( Picture by David Crichlow )
JUN 15, 2021 By Fabian Belgrave —— BGIS
The second building to be restored under Government’s Rejuvenation Programme, to cut rent expenditure and repair crown properties, was handed over this morning to the Ministry of Transport, Works and Water Resources.
Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance, Dr. William Duguid, speaking at the handing over ceremony at the Gatehouse, The Pine, St. Michael, stated: “The first building, we had finished was actually the former Sanitation Service Authority building in Vaucluse, that has gone over the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and they have taken up residence. This is actually the second one. I’m very, very happy to inform you that it was completed on time and on budget. And I’m extremely happy with the results.”
He continued: “This is phase one of this Rejuvenation Programme. The next one we will be doing is the Warehouse building, and then following that will be the former three-storey Barbados Water Authority building; that will be rejuvenated as well.”
Dr. Duguid highlighted other projects that will be restored, including the Welfare Building, opposite the National Housing Corporation’s office on Country Road and the former Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court is progressing very well, and we’re very happy with what is going on there,” he said.
The Minister also spoke about the cost of the project and did a cost comparison of what the amount would be to pay rent to use another building.
“$230,000 is very small in comparison to the utilisation…. Just imagine, renting this space for the QS department, from somebody else – $35 to $40, $50, something like that, per square foot, per year. You know, it would quickly come up to the amount of money that we will spend. And this is something that will be here for many years and I’m very, very pleased with what we’re doing here,” he stated
JUN 15, 2021 By Fabian Belgrave —— BGIS
