$50M deal signed to dredge Nassau Harbour
By JUAN MCCARTNEY,Guardian Senior Reporter,juan@nasguard.com
The government yesterday committed to spending more than $75 million to undertake the redevelopment of Nassau Harbour, Prince George and Woodes Rogers Wharfs and Arawak Cay.
The first component of that redevelopment was committed to yesterday when the government signed a $50 million deal with Dutch company Boskalis to dredge nearly 2 million cubic yards of material from Nassau Harbour over the next few months.
A contract worth $44 million was signed with Boskalis yesterday, with another $6.6 million in contingency funding put in place.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who spoke at the contract signing yesterday, said that in addition to completing the harbor dredging by the end of November, Boskalis – one of five companies that submitted bids for the major project – will construct three mooring dolphins at the Prince George Wharf, and extend the western end of Arawak Cay by 1,000 feet in length by “using the dredged material along with steel sheet piles.”
Ingraham also said the ernment will spend an additional $24 million to create “an additional one mile of waterfront promenade” to Woodes Rogers Wharf to complement the work done at the harbor and at Arawak Cay.
“Some of the dredged material will also be used to extend the northern coast of New Providence from East Street to Armstrong Street, some 20-30 feet into the water,” he said. “This scenic pedestrian promenade will include a boardwalk, landscaping, service road and utility corridor (and will be) a component of the Nassau downtown redevelopment project. The promenade is expected to facilitate both the downtown retail sector and promote the reintroduction and restoration of desirable residential communities in our capital city.”
In addition to the dredging and other projects, Ingraham said repairs will be undertaken to the Prince George Wharf piers “and connecting bridges and new bollards are to be installed to accommodate the new larger Genesis class cruise ships; and a new security screening building and support facilities are also to be constructed at Prince George Wharf.
“It is anticipated that the dredging activities will be completed by November 30, 2009, to accommodate the arrival in The Bahamas of one of the first of Royal Caribbean International’s mega cruise ships, Oasis of the Seas on its maiden voyage in December, 2009,” the prime minister said.
Ingraham also said that the contractors were “advised of the various requirements of the project, and were also informed of the need for unimpeded movement” of commercial and pleasure craft within the harbor.
“This initiative to dredge the Nassau Harbour along with the replacement and installation of bollards at Prince George Dock, the construction of a new straw market, the restoration of the historic Supreme Court Building, and the advancement of plans for an authentic Bahamian craft market will all contribute to the revitalization and improvement of the Bay Street and downtown area of Nassau,” he said.
As far as how the dredging will affect the surrounding ecosystem, Ingraham said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) indicated that the project should have a “negligible” effect.
“The coastal analysis has indicated minimal change to beaches and tidal flow as a result of the deepening of the harbor, (and) there has also been no indication of potential adverse effects on the Western Esplanade beach from dredging activities,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Works and Transport will monitor the area for the duration of the project.
Ingraham also said one recommendation of the EIA was that conch and fish be stored at an alternate site for the duration of the project.
However, Ingraham was not clear as to which sites would need to find alternate storage for fish and conch, or where those proposed sites are going to be.
He added that turbidity levels will be “within the standards of the Florida Environmental Protection Agency.
“However, the BEST Commission has under review a proposed system of ‘active de-watering’ for disposal of discharge water that has the potential to produce reduced levels of visible turbidity at the discharge location, a system that was used recently by the contractor in other project locations,” he said. “Noise pollution has been deemed negligible and should not create any discomfort for individuals who work nearby.”
