Ministry Updates On Heritage Wharf Project
The Public Works Ministry said that while local employees will make up 75% or greater of the total workforce on the Heritage Wharf Project, 22 temporary work permits have been issued to foreign workers.
The Ministry said the project is “off to a good start with materials arriving in Bermuda already and equipment now following.” The $22.36 million project is scheduled to be ready for the arrival of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship on May 15, 2013.
Minister of Public Works Trevor Moniz stated, “The Ministry can confirm that local employees will take up 75 percent or greater of the total workforce to complete the project which will provide an excellent learning experience for both the local workforce on the ground and local engineers and technical staff who are working closely with overseas experts to ensure the project is completed to the required quality and on time.”
A statement from the Ministry said, “To date, the Department of Immigration has approved 22 temporary work permits at the request of the Ministry of Public Works to support this project. The barges, cranes and other equipment that are being brought in for these works are larger than what are found locally and require skilled handling.
“The local consortia of Sunrise Construction Limited, Crisson Construction Limited and Onsite Engineering Limited are contracted for the works and they will continue to employ Bermudian staff. However they will also be employing staff from abroad to operate the barges and pile driving equipment in a safe manner without danger to local employees.
“The design of the strengthening works has been reviewed in detail, particularly at the forces exerted on the dock during the berthing of the ship as well as during the cruise ships stay.
“In order to withstand loading from the cruise vessels in a sustained 45 knot wind speed and the waves associated with this, it has been necessary to use more piled foundations of a larger size that are driven deeper and orientated correctly.
“The structures that will be built will be noticeably larger than those currently seen at Heritage Wharf and will prevent the existing structure from being overloaded and damaged.
“In order to undertake the works in the restricted timescale and to a high quality the Ministry has imported the piles in 120ft lengths. This reduces the amount of time needed for site welding considerably but unfortunately it requires that equipment be introduced that is capable of handling this size of pile.
“All of the welds will be inspected in detail to ensure compliance. Those already completed have been inspected and any defects found have been repaired. All site welds will undergo the same rigorous scrutiny as is required to ensure a product that will stand the test of time.
“All payments on this project will be supported by documentation and fully auditable and, there are no hidden costs. Rates for labour, equipment and materials have to be agreed up front and have been verified by Government using cost databases recognized within the industry,” the Ministry continued.
Minister Moniz went on to say, “We are grateful for the provision of accommodation at a significantly discounted rate from a local hotel in what is we believe a mutually beneficial arrangement. We have also benefited from unsolicited help by local firms in facilitating the delivery of materials to site.
“It is gratifying to see Bermudians pulling together to help complete what is admittedly a huge challenge and hope that these examples of cooperation and assistance continue to help us along the way.”
The Ministry previously said the work will cost $22,369,961.93.
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Makes sense to me…
Well done Minister Moniz.
There is not much time to complete this mammoth task.However the people have confidence in yourself and the entire OBA team,to get the job done! All the best!
any more questions? treefogs*
I’ve got one!!! Out of that 75% what percentage are non temporary work permit holders?
Is that a real question? Why would a Bemudian worker require a work permit?
Like duh!!!! The article says, “local employees will make up 75% or greater of the total workforce on the Heritage Wharf Project, 22 temporary work permits have been issued to foreign workers.” It doesn’t say Bermudian employees. Foreign workers are local employees when compared to temporary work permit who do not get the same permit as other permit holders. Do you really think that Sunrise Construction Limited & Crisson Construction Limited have a 75% Bermudian work staff?
The minister just mixed words to confuse the amount thats why he says, ““The local consortia of Sunrise Construction Limited, Crisson Construction Limited and Onsite Engineering Limited are contracted for the works and they will continue to employ Bermudian staff. However they will also be employing staff from abroad to operate the barges and pile driving equipment in a safe manner without danger to local employees.” He doesn’t mention the number of Bermudians because he knows some other foreign work permit holders other than the 22 will be involved. Nevertheless this is not really that much concern to me because the majority of non IB permit holders that are not needed on island don’t work construction because its too hard of a job for them. I was just putting in my 2cents about how the minister used his words to mislead. Yesterday he couldn’t even give an exact amount of temporary work permits.
Do you want a pier in time for the cruise shipes, or do you want to piss about arguing about temporary work permits?
Well said
Mad Dawg, you are right, at this point it should not matter… we have a time frame to complete the project as the ship is arriving soon.
No time for games, just time to get the work done.
My argument is not about the temporary work permits I realize they’re needed. My comment is directed towards our ministers knowledge or lack of about the number of work permits that are not temporary & also the seasonal ones. For a minister to state it’s not his concern as to how many permits will be issued reflects on what his lack of concern is towards all other work permits. If the ministers are really going to strive to decrease unemployment they should gain full knowledge of how many are on work permits at the moment island wide & what the job is that they have the permit for.
Tommy Chong has hit a bong …now hes over analytically thinking…mad dawgs got it right
How many foreign workers did Dennis employ on the original job? Anyone know??
Where are those four Uighurs employed now???
I agree that the ministers comments are intentionally vague. I would like to know how many Bermudians and how many of our presently unemployed Bermudians will be working on this project. If all of the Bermudians working on the project were already employed by these firms then there would be no net effect on unemployment. I am sure the project needs the temp workers, but I want to know if this project has helped any of our unemployed!
Hey Trevor, last night on ZBM none of this was any of your business. What changed? Did you realize that you’re the Minister now and that flippant, snide remarks like you perfected in opposition were no longer permissible? For anyone who cares to check, the rationale in this statement is very similar to Correia’s explanations when building the original dock. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. His exact words were, “It’s not my concern how many permits were given.” Wonder who’s concern it is since it doesn’t seem to be Minister Fayhs either. It really helps to know how many permits are given out & to whom if the OBA wants to make sure to “protect Bermudian jobs by cracking down on employers who abuse immigration rules.” just as they promised in their platform.
hired by the PLP………..your point is?
But Island Constructions physical building of the dock was piss poor, and anyone who goes to see the Wharf can see that. Who builds a Ship quay in Bermuda, only capable of withstanding max 25 knot winds??? We are a small island 600nm from U.S. East Coast, and on any given day in the week during summertime, we get wind speeds exceeding 30kts. If a 100,000GRT ship was alongside, with these winds….Who would you blame??
Its great what the OBA and Mr. Moniz are doing, things the RIGHT way…not the PLP way…
@1234…. Actually it wasn’t Islnd Construction,. Other than that you are correct, poor workmanship from start to finish…. Wonder how much was saved by mixing the concrete with salt water?
I believe It was Correia Construction. I wonder if the AG will go after them for redress against the poor workmanship.
What a mess from the pervious governing party not good.
OBA,we elected you to govern.As Mike Jordan says “just do it “. The people have your back!We know what we had and we see what we have now.Transparency,accountability ,honesty and integrity.”just do it “.
While we may support the government, we have no intention to do so blindly. The people have a right to and will question the government when necessary and this does not mean that they are being unsupportive.
Work permits are a touchy topic right now but its a necessary evil. Its time to just get it done and get it done right. This is also going to be a great learning experience for our local labour force and at the very least they will learn to properly “measure twice and cut once”. The Dutch are masters at marine construction. Lets just get this whole mess sorted.
What we should be saying is KUDO’s to the 3 firms who have been able to pull this project together in such a short span of time and to have it completed in the short time frame. Heck on the work permits – this has to be done.
Can you imagine the time it would have taken to hire the unskilled local help? I know Crisson always has hired Bda’s.
What we should be looking out is who designed the old pier and if the prior contractor and designer failed in their part as we now have to pay twice??
at this stage get it done quickly and safely regardless of the national origin of the construction worker……think what is best for Bermuda and the massive problem on screwing up the entire cruise season…amazing that Derrick Burgess has the b@lls to open his mouth but that does not require brains….did the massive screw up and overspend of the project cause all of the problem….shut up Burgess you are clueless….
I heard Shadow Minisster Burgess state “Why do we need 16 work permits, when we did it we only needed two”. Did you not think, Mr. Burgess that that is whey we are now preparing the pier?
Just went on NCL and checked out their new Breakaway ship. It’s BIG, 4,000 passengers (minus crew). Now we know this is not as great as 4,000 air visitors, I am one to say “Half a loaf better than NO loaf”.
I however stop there to say, “I am crossing my fingers this dock is completed”. What a disaster trying to tender that amount of Cruise Ship passengers. Bermuda will be under the microscope on this.
I’m also crossing my fingers in that the Ministry is not just focusing on the dock, but the ability to host 4,000 tourists in Dockyard. We need to do better in offering transportation in an organized fashion. All Ministries involved better get to work on how to accommodate this amount of Cruise Ship passengers.
Good Luck…
Bingo.
Yes, much LUCK will be needed. This is the opening of BIU season for the busfery service and a disruption of the public transportation service will blow this whole thing apart.
This is exactly what the BIU/PLP are looking forward to and I am sure they are salivating at the prospct!
Watch this space…..
IMHO, we should be prepared for any eventuality – in other words, should we, God forbid, have to undergo a strike by either the bus service or the ferry service, those of us with cars and a little free time could consider meeting the cruise ship passengers to assist the taxi drivers in getting those folks to their destinations. This would not only ensure the passengers’ needs are met. it would also be an opportunity to demonstrate that old Bermudian friendliness and hospitality.
A side benefit would be to send a message that the island will not be held hostage.