$95.2K contract signed for new Agriculture & Fisheries Complex
Following a competitive bidding process, the ninety-five thousand, two hundred dollars, contract was awarded to Trojan Design and Development Ltd on October 17, 2024, a Government Information Service (GIS) press release stated.
The new Agriculture and Fisheries Complex will be a modern facility with the value-added functionality to process food in a safe manner replacing and enhancing the facilities destroyed by the hurricanes in 2017.
The abattoir will be modernised, the fish processing hub re-established, and will offer new spaces for administration, technical services, and educational programmes with a view to processing and exporting food products.
2 phase project
The project will be done in two phases. Phase one, the design phase, will produce a comprehensive design guided by stakeholder feedback.
Included in the design will be facilities for processing, storage, and distribution of farmers and fishers’ products. It will feature an abattoir, fish processing facility, and office spaces for administrative and technical services.
The release added that the goal of the design is to create a facility that is functional, flexible, sustainable, resilient, compliant with regulations, and capable of fostering community harmony.
Phase two, or the second component of the contract, comprises construction management to ensure the facility is built according to the approved designs.
The project was conceived with the passing of the Virgin Islands Food Security and Sustainability Act, 2022 which addresses areas in agriculture necessary to move the sector forward.
New complex will provide much-needed resources
The new Agriculture and Fisheries Complex is envisioned to provide farmers and fishers with the resources they need to increase productivity, access new markets, and reduce the Territory’s dependence on imports, Junior Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Dr The Hon Karl Dawson (R1) said in remarks during the contract signing ceremony.
“This facility will allow a level of aggregation and consolidation that will facilitate trade between those who are producing and those who will eventually be supplying the products,” he said.
Hon Dawson added, “The Complex design is integral to this because as we produce more, we do not want a system where our farmers and fishers in addition to producing the products that they are responsible for, now have to go and make individual arrangements with restaurants or the supermarkets.”
Client Recipient Representative and Director of Agriculture and Fisheries Mr Theodore E. James said food safety is important in the industry.
“Once we know persons have produced in a manner that is safe, we need to focus on how we will manufacture that food in a safe manner. We are now going to have a value-added, modern facility that will ensure food is processed at a standard which we will be proud of,” he said.
Project to be delivered by 3rd quarter of 2026
Meantime, RDA’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Anthony S. McMaster said, “RDA intends to deliver this project on time and within budget. The project he anticipates will be delivered by the third quarter of 2026.
Representative for the architects of the project Ronnie Lettsome of Trojan Design and Development Ltd, the architects for the project, said the company will make the designs their priority.
“The design will be done up to standards and within budget. We appreciate your confidence in us and I’m happy to be a part of this project that will push the BVI forward in terms of agriculture and fisheries,” Mr Lettsome said.
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17 Responses to “$95.2K contract signed for new Agriculture & Fisheries Complex”
Its going to need some major investment to make this happen is the 95.2K for the construction of this facility ? DDM is 9.5M and no work is going on there currently so not sure if this is a concrete plan.
The potential vendors wants a secure area that can be locked up properly at nights t prevent robbery.