The new Jost Van Dyke Primary School which will cost approximately $4.3 million dollars to fully construct is expected to last a minimum lifespan of 50 years on the sister island.
This is according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) Mr. Anthony McMaster, who made the disclosure recently.
He labeled the new facility as more than just another school, stating that it will be a multi-purpose educational facility that will serve the wider Jost Van Dyke Community for decades to come.
“This project represents an investment in the future of the people of Jost Van Dyke. The project has been designed with a lifespan of minimum of 50 years. So, if we consider that, people might say, well we’re spending $4.3 plus million dollars on Jost Van Dyke for a school,” he said.
“It’s not a school. It’s a multi-purpose educational development facility that is expected to last the Jost Van Dyke Community from a minimum of 50 years. So effectively you’re looking at roughly $85,000 of investment per year if you were to look at the life span expectancy of this project. I think it’s a well-worth investment of the people of the BVI for the people of the BVI and it’s going to be done by a local contractor,” he added.
To consist of an auditorium and computer lab
McMaster also provided some insight on what the community can look forward to expecting once the facility is completed.
“This facility will not just be classrooms but it will be classrooms, it will be offices, it will have in an auditorium that you’ll be able to do not just school meetings but also community meetings as well. It will have in a resource center so that you have the ability for the students to be able to do their library research, but also, I would anticipate the Ministry of Education will be extending it to the community because it would also have in a computer lab. So it is not a simple school structure that we are putting back up, but a multi-purpose educational facility for the people of Jost Van Dyke,” he explained.
One of the most competitive evaluation processes seen by the RDA
CEO McMaster also revealed that the evaluation process for determining the eventual winner of the bid for the school project was among the most competitive seen by the RDA.
He said the process was so competitive that it resulted in the RDA missing some of its intended deadlines for the early phases of the project.
He said, “I remember the now premier calling me last month and he said to me, Mr. McMaster, we are now in July. I said, yes sir. He said according to your board, on Jost Van Dyke construction should be starting now. What has happened? I said, well premier to be quite frank this is one of the most contented evaluations that we had. You will not believe how close this was. I think if I’m not mistaken, the difference between first and second place was probably about two points. And the difference in cost was probably under $30,000. That’s how close a competition we had with the evaluation process that led to where we are today.”
To be built with resilience
McMaster also said that the new building will fall in line with the RDA’s mantra which is to build stronger, greener, better and more resilient.
“What I can say to you is that even though we are standing here, sitting here at the current campus of the school, you’ll notice that there is a shift and the location has changed. The location has changed because it is important that if we’re going to build stronger and greener with resilience in mind, then we have to consider flooding that takes place in this current area, we have to consider the impact of the possible storm waters during hurricanes, etcetera, so all of those things have been taken into consideration, seismic activity within the region”, he explained.
The school is projected to be completed in time for the September 2023 school year.