The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday announced the commencement of work on the slope stabilisation and road rehabilitation at Ginger Village, Belmont Main Road.
Through funding from the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund B Envelope disaster response grant, the government signed the contract with Dipcon Engineering Services Ltd. on April 28, 2017 for EC$3,821,822.77. The grant is being implemented by the Ministry of Economic Planning, Sustainable Development, Industry, Information and Labour and managed by the World Bank through the Regional Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project.
Following the receipt of clearance from the World Bank in relation to social safeguards procedures, the works began with site possession on Oct. 16.
The works will include road realignment and rehabilitation, drains, retaining walls, installation of erosion control revegetation mats, and the re-establishment of the bus shed near the Ginger Village Road junction.
The works will proceed with excavation of the slope in the first phase and, therefore, the public is being asked to exercise caution with the heavy machinery in the area.
On Sept. 2, 2013, a large landslide occurred on the Belmont main road in the area of Ginger Village — rendering the road impassable. The road is the main inland arterial road that connects several large communities between Mt. Pleasant/Peruvian Vale and Arnos Vale via Fairhall, Belmont, Mesopotamia, Ginger Village, Evesham, Hopewell, Calder and Richland Park.
This road is also the main inland route to the international airport at Argyle. As a result of the landslide, the road has been blocked and the traffic has not been able to use the road over half of its length. This has caused significant disruption in the movement of traffic and great difficulties for the road users.
The EC$183.39 million RDVRP was declared effective by the World Bank on Sept. 9, 2011, and is being implemented over a seven-year period that ends on Dec. 31, 2018.
It is 100 per cent financed by credits of US$46.52 million from the International Development Agency, Strategic Climate Fund Pilot Program for Climate Resilience grants of US$12 million, a Strategic Climate Fund Loan of USD 3 million and a US$6.7 million grant from the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund B Envelope.
The project is being implemented by the Public Sector Investment Programme Management Unit of the Ministry of Economic Planning, Sustainable Development, Industry, Information and Labour.
We will continue to have roads destroyed until we start building them properly and start using quality materials. Unfortunately government is addicted to the “quick fix”. and whatever is cheap.