Another project that Minister Julius Espat has inherited is the Mile 38 road. Earlier this year, the road was damaged by floods and six months later, it still hasn't been fully repaired. There has been progress made, but the new culverts need to be installed. Espat gave us an update on how that's going.
Hon. Julius Espat, Minister, Infrastructure, Development, Housing
"We did a complete analysis of the work here. That one I've been behind personally, so I've just gotten the final design for that project. It will be based on the box culverts. The box culverts have already been casted. There are right here at the Ministry of Works compound in Belmopan. Contracts are in the process of being signed for a contractor to complete the work and so that work will start pretty soon. We had about $700,000 spent on that project already and therefore we are trying to find a way to justify that. We have found that already and then we have to have a final budget to complete."
"That's in progress already along with others and the way we are doing it to be able to start these contracts we have to send it up. What we do is under the emergency spending we are allocated a budget. We have identify the contractors that will be working on the project. Our engineers have already done their homework and done the necessary estimates and technical specifications for the project. That information we have now sent to the ministry of finance for their approval. It will also have to be sent to the contractor general for their approval and therefore they sent it back to us and then we can start work."
"We have been receiving loads of calls from throughout the country that people wants those works to start immediately and we would have love to have started it immediately, but we are doing due diligence and we are following the procedure which in the public service takes a little bit of time, but we are still on acceptable schedule. So there is a new timeframe for that bridge and physical work on the ground will commence early January."
