Bamia Primary School to be commissioned for new academic year

By Abiola Archer

The construction of the Bamia Primary School which will serve students in the Amelia’s Ward and Bamia communities of Linden, is now 75 percent physically completed and should be ready to accommodate some 800 students for the new academic school year.

The awarding of the $364 million contract to Sta8tment Investment Inc. was held in November 2021 and it stipulated that the project be completed within 20 months. The deadline for completion was slated for July 2023. Sta8tment Investment Inc. Principals are Rawle Ferguson and Kerwin Bollers of Hits and Jams Entertainment along with Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major and Kashif Muhammed of the Kashif and Shanghai Organization. However, the contractors failed to complete the project and three new deadlines were given. Region 10 elected officials are hoping the contractors meet the new deadline so that the school can be commissioned for the new academic year.  

At the most recent Regional Democratic Council (RDC) statutory meeting, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Dwight John, expressed confidence that the school should be ready for September 2024. “The school should be opened for September this year,” he said. He also shared that 68 percent of the payment was paid to the contractor. Meanwhile, $127 million has been allocated in the 2024 budget for its completion.

Additionally, in the meeting, Region 10 Regional Chairman Deron Adams and RDC Councillors raised concerns over the contractors’ negligence in meeting the contractual deadlines. They also highlighted several construction discrepancies, which they hope will be addressed. They desire to have an engagement with the consultant of the project at the next RDC statutory meeting.