The Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) recently awarded Autland Heavy Equipment Company Limited a contract valuing nearly $1.8 million for road rehabilitation works and slope stabilisation at Long Trench on Tortola.
The announcement was made during the contract signing ceremony on Tuesday, by the Director of Procurement at the RDA, John Primo.
According to Primo, the procurement process followed the guidelines set out by the Caribbean Development Bank’s procurement policies, using the selection method of National Competitive Bidding.
He said 14 local contractors requested bid documents prior to the April 23 submission deadline date, however only 8 bids were received in total.
“Following a preliminary and detailed examination of the bids, Autland Heavy Equipment Company Limited was awarded the contract based on best value for money at a cost of $1,799,499.68. The Caribbean Development Bank granted the RDA the required approval for these works,” Primo stated.
Some of the works expected
The RDA’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Anthony McMaster detailed some of the works that will be expected under this contract.
He said the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.
“With this contract to Autland, we intend to do general site clearance, demolition of existing sections of the concrete road and after that has been completed, the installation of 125 meters of reinforced concrete works, two retaining walls – one approximately 49 meters by 2.9 meters high and the other 77 meters by 3.3 meters high. The works also include the installation of 225 meters of guard rail. This project is expected to take four months,” McMaster stated.
Grateful to be awarded the contract
Meanwhile, Operations Manager of Autland Heavy Equipment Company Limited Dawn Crabbe-Herbert expressed gratitude for being awarded the contract.
She spoke to the many benefits of working with the RDA and on CDB projects.
“We are truly grateful to be a part of the restoration efforts in the Virgin Islands. We have been working on CDB projects from the inception and have benefited from the capacity building efforts of RDA and their many trainings. We have been able to pass on this benefit to many subcontractors and the development of resilience building of our staff and other Virgin Islanders because of these efforts,” she said.
“We are grateful to have been selected for the execution of the Long Trench Road Rehabilitation, Slope Stabilization Project. We are here to continue to develop quality work on budget and on time to showcase the ability of Virgin Islanders in executing projects on all levels,” Mrs Crabbe-Herbert added.