RDA confident locals can win bid to build ultra-modern ferry terminal
Despite the ‘intricate and futuristic’ design of the new West End Ferry Terminal, the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) believes local contractors are more than capable of constructing the structure.
Speaking at the government’s second public meeting for the new terminal recently, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the RDA, Anthony McMaster said his agency is also confident that these local contractors are at an advantage of winning the development contract when it goes out for tender.
“I know that persons look at these designs and think this is a unique design and they have never seen the design before and whether or not we are able to deliver it. What I would say is keep in mind that the people of the Virgin Islands, the contractors of the BVI have demonstrated that they have the expertise to deliver these buildings,” McMaster said.
“For example, the Dr D Orlando Smith Hospital. When we looked at the size of that building during the inception, we did not think we had the local expertise to deliver it. But it is sitting there fully in use. If you look at Quitos Gazebo, another futuristic building that was built years ago by locals within the BVI. I’ll go a step further and mention the Pier Park. When that project was being envisaged and we looked at what was produced as a schematic, again, there were concerns whether we had the local expertise to deliver it but we have in fact delivered it,” the CEO added.
McMaster named several other locations such as Little Dix Bay Hotel, Mosquito Island, Necker Island Development and Long Bay Development which all bore the fingerprints of Virgin Islands’ contractors.
Locals know the market
The CEO warned that the project is being funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and consequently, the project will be open to international bidders. However, McMaster is not worried as he believes local contractors have ‘a foot up’ on international contractors because they are from the territory and have been operating here.
“They have the market, they know the market so they should be in a position to actually produce a tender proposal that should be second to none,” he said.
“Keep in mind the RDA continues to do training in the production of these documents and the training that we do is mirrored off the CDB procurement project. So, if you go through the training process that the RDA provides, there is no reason local contractors shouldn’t be able to bid competitively and win this project,’ the CEO continued.
McMaster advised local contractors that if they are afraid about whether the project outweighs local expertise, they should keep in mind that they will have the opportunity to add resources to their team. He also reminded them that it is just another construction project and as Virgin Islanders, anything is possible.
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Leaving aside the contractor point, today’s “ultra modern” is tomorrow’s ultra dated.
I’m all for something modern and striking, but please let it complement its natural surroundings and not look like a 1980s greenhouse.
Apart from the obvious design shortcomings there aren’t many local contractures who work with this level of structural steel. But that aside, the design fails to address the critical issues of parking and congestion. As we all know the area in front of the building is restricted to a very narrow strip due to the buildings across the street and the hillside. The design doesn’t take this into consideration. Function should proceed form. Why wasn’t the public involved in the discussion before they spent another $1million of our money. This is going to end up just like BVI Airlines.
Quito’s gazebo modern design? This crap is just embarrassing.
The west end design is amateurish and
ugly. Even if we could build it, we shouldn’t.
Quito’s a “futuristic building”? As much as they did a good job building it, the scale is so out of line with anything else in Cane, just like this project is out of scale for Sophers Hole.
Bigger isn’t better (ignore my wife’s comments please) and if futuristic I’d the way to go, how come everything built since Irma has a traditional Caribbean feel?
an underwhelming design looks like a stack of pre-fabricated cheap garages. Ultra disappointing not modern, back to the drawing board please.
My money is on EMCS to “bag” this contract.
My money is on yellow
amarillo ITS YELLOW…YELLO
AMARILLO!!!!!!!!!!!!! YELLOW HAS IT
I am OVERLY CONFIDENT that this s**t of a plan will not go anywhere in its current form, I can almost guarantee that!
AMARILLO!!!!!!!!!!!!! YELLOW HAS IT
And why has this design been pushed on us ? NOBODY CARES FOR IT ! No one consulted the taxpayers who are paying for it. Andrew you’ve lost it. Get help
A monstrosity that has no place in BVI.
What is the system for cleaning all that glass? I will wager there isn’t one. Over time it will become dirty, cracked, crazed and even more ugly than it is now.
No one wants this hideous carbuncle.
This ‘modern’ ferry terminal design for West End is completely useless and will never be built.
I ain see a thing wrong with the design. It looks very good to me. I like it.
Thanks for posting, Mr McMasters
Why are the people in this picture wearing Arab style robes? Was this project copied from one delivered to the UAE or did the designers think we all dress with head dresses and flowing white robes? (They must have airbrushed out the camels which we don’t have either.)
That is to show the future of the BVI. Our new masters will be Arabs who use their money to buy the country. All belongers will be relocated to Guyana, ensuring a more prosperous, friendly, and worker attitude community.
Embrace the future.
Confident that some contractor will bid for the project, get the money and abandon the site in a mess!
There is some history here. Why don’t anyone look what happens in the past when nonsense like this happen.
If you designed a concrete box that would be our new West End ferry some contractor would bui!d it in a couple of months and we would be ready for next season. Now you going to piss away the money and leave a mess for the next 10 years.
Is there any way to stop this madness?
Why is nobody talking about what this building is being used for???
The West End ferry is used primuby day-trippers that check in to BVI customs and the go to Norman Island\Willy-T or Jost Van Dyke to spend money and drink. All these people want Bradley C. Palmer, a Greenwich financier, a quick friendly immigration process…the building need to do this function!
The West End Ferry dock should be more like a fast food restaurant when they serve you in your car. Lots of finger piers and these character boats can pull up to a window and get quick immigration SERVICE! This glass thing looks like people have get out of the boat, go inside, wait in line…MESS!
The design needs to start with the function. The project brief was clearly off the mark of this ended up as the result. It needs to be thrown out, and started over.
The Red Herring is definitely the ‘can a local contracter build it’….that is not the point
Exactly. Function over form. Good arguments!
Besides being ugly, all that south facing glass.
It will be an oven as soon as the AC fails. As well it will blind everyone on Frenchmans with the sun reflecting off the glass. Hope it never sees the light of day.
“I know that persons look at these designs and think this is a unique design and they have never seen the design before…”
See that’s the problem, ayo think we live under a rock and stupid. You telling us we never seen these types of design but before but then saying local contractor can build it. So only local contractor seen these types of design before? Ayo just want piece of the cake when you give it to a local contractor who you already know you want to award the contract to.
Zentrum Paul Klee in Switzerland