RDA will have awarded $60M in contracts by end of this summer

By the end of this summer, the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) will have contracted more than $60 million for development in the territory since its inception back in 2018.

Speaking at the official handover and rededication ceremony for the Vanterpool Administration Building in Virgin Gorda, the RDA’s Director of Strategy Dr Smith said the Agency is a results-oriented organisation and once a target is set, the agency believes it is its duty to meet the target.

“The pace at which the RDA has to begin to operate has picked up. We were looking at it yesterday and did some analysis and the pace has picked up considerably within the last year and a half. There are other things I could say but I don’t want to let out any secrets, but you would see the tempo of projects through the RDA increasing almost exponentially,” Dr Smith said.

The Director of Strategy said the RDA has a lot of things coming up in for the foreseeable future and Virgin Islanders should keep their eyes peeled on the RDA’s website for more information.

“Our young BVIslanders, our women and men, we want them to come in the RDA. There is a lot of experience in the knowledge there that we need to pass on. Our project management, accountancy, our engineering, we want to train so that when the RDA is here no longer, we have the capacity,” Dr Smith added.

He said the RDA already does training at the moment, but they would like to expand that to reach more people. Dr Smith noted there is a deep passion for training and capacity building with his agency.

“Keep that in mind, our arms are open wide and there is a lot to learn with this great opportunity we have,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his speech at the ceremony, Premier Andrew Fahie had mentioned the RDA has already contracted up to $40 million worth of projects from the money received from the Caribbean Development Bank back in 2018 to help with the redevelopment and restoration of the Virgin Islands following the devastation of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

Fahie said more than 80% of the contractors were awarded to local contractors and the work produced has been stellar. He also added that the RDA has run all the projects in an accountable and transparent manner that is above reproach.