The Government of Barbados (GOBD) has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in an amount equivalent to US$ 6,877,000 towards the cost of Halls Road Flood Mitigation Project and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under contracts procured under this project.
Payments by CDB will be made only at the request of GOBD and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement. The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than GOBD shall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.
1. The Project is the final portion of the upgrade of the Constitution River, the primary drainage channel through Bridgetown. The improvement works proposed will reduce the incidence of flooding in Bridgetown and will enhance public health by mitigating the threat of mosquito-borne diseases. The supporting technical assistance components will improve the sustainability of the investment through the development of a Constitution River maintenance plan, and the conduct of a Climate Vulnerability Assessment(CVA) of the Constitution River drainage catchment to explore upstream options for improving the resilience of the Project area to flooding.
2. The largest (in terms of cost) component of the Project is infrastructure works to increase the hydraulic capacity to the Constitution River. This component includes the dredging of the river channel to increase its depth, and the installation of boulders to protect the river banks. There are also three TA consultancies aimed at enhancing the sustainability of the infrastructure works and the drainage sector as a whole.
Project management will be undertaken by BTI. BTI has been effective in implementing several infrastructure projects which impact on the tourism sector of Barbados. These include drainage and river training works and urban rehabilitation infrastructure. BTI effectively implemented the upgrading of the first two phases of the Constitution River and was charged by GOBD with preparing this phase of the Project. BTI will assign counterpart staff, as required, to ensure the successful completion of the Project. CDB staff is satisfied that BTI has the project management and administrative capacity to execute the Project on behalf of GOBD. The capacity building component of the Project will be implemented through an ongoing programme which is being executed by the Ministry of Environment and Drainage. This component already has a project coordinator in place whose qualifications and experience are acceptable to CDB. The Project is projected to be implemented over n period of 38 months commencing from CDB’s Board approval. Implementation of main construction works is estimated to take I 6 months, commencing by July I, 2020 and completed by October 3 I, 2020. A one-year retention period is expected. The proposed Project Implementation Schedule is presented in Appendix 2 to this Schedule. An Implementation Suppo1t Pinn is set out in Appendix 3 to this Schedule.
Source: Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
Expected Outcomes
Expected Results by 2022: Sea Defences/Landslip Protection/Urban Drainage of 0.45 km. One community to benefit from the infrastructure construction/enhancement project of whom 20 persons are entrepreneurs. Enhanced flood management capacity of the Drainage Division. General Beautification of the area.
BTI Ground Breaking Ceremony
October 11th 2020
Barbados’ drainage issues must be addressed.
Minister in Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment and Member of Parliament for St. Michael South Central, Marsha Caddle stated this during an interview with local media at the Constitution River yesterday morning. She and representatives of the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc.(BTI), C.O. Williams Construction and DLN Consultants Inc. launched the 18-month Constitution River: Phase Three Project. The cost of the initiative is 11 million dollars.
Caddle outlined that in the area, there has been an increase of mosquitoes and sanitation and cleanliness have been a challenge for residents. She highlighted that although the island is experiencing drought conditions, with recent heavy rainfall and flooding, drainage is an issue.
Hall’s Roads Commercial Village coming.
During her remarks, Minister Caddle announced plans for Hall’s Road Commercial Village which will feature a series of kiosks along the embankment at the Constitution River. She explained that this will provide opportunities for entrepreneurs in the community.
As she pointed out the existing vendors on the main road, Caddle said the government aims to bring order and motivate residents to continue their commercial activities.
“(This project) is really about giving opportunities to entrepreneurs and when we talk about the private sector, we are not only talking about big business, ” said Caddle.
She also noted that over the next couple of months, the communication team will be disseminating notices about traffic changes or issues to the public. The Minister also encouraged Barbadians to be aware of their environment and asked that the public cooperates by not placing garbage and other debris into the waterways.
Earlier, she explained that the Constitution River: Phase Three project is a continuation of the first phases many years ago and the reason for the delay was due to a lack of fiscal space and management issues by the last administration. She added that the project will address water quality, channel capacity, and drainage issues. Caddle mentioned that a similar project at the salt pond in Speightstown will start soon. The project valued at $9 million will manage flooding issues in the north of the island.
Source: Barbados Advocate