THREE CONTRACTS WERE AWARDED UNDER THE DVRP THAT AIM TO REDUCE DISASTER CRISES AND INCREASE CLIMATE RESILIENCE.

The Government of Saint Lucia continues to undertake measures to reduce the island’s vulnerability to weather events. Among several ongoing projects is the Forestierre to Bagatelle land stabilization project embarked upon in the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas.

On Nov. 27, three contracts were awarded under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP), that aims to reduce urgent disaster crises and increase long-term climate resilience by addressing the risks associated with the impacts of climate change.

Hon. Guy Joseph, Minister for Economic Development, Housing, Urban Renewal, Transport and Civil Aviation, explained that the contracts were awarded following a competitive bidding process.

The contract for the construction of the Bexon Community Centre was won by Jamecob Quality Construction Limited at the price of EC$9,068,963; the contract for land rehabilitation and road works in Bagatelle and Forestierre to address damages caused as a result of Hurricane Tomas in 2010 was awarded to Fresh Start Construction at the price of EC$2,475,121; and the contract for the Dennery (south) drainage project as part of flood mitigation works in the Dennery community was awarded to Triple L Construction at a cost of EC$3,000,000.

The drainage works project is intended to be completed by June 2021, the Construction of the Bexon Community Centre by Dec. 2021, and the Bagatelle land stabilization project by Nov. 2021.

The World Bank Group has assisted Saint Lucia, post Hurricane Tomas and the 2013 Christmas Eve trough, with rehabilitating damaged infrastructure and preparing the island for varied weather impacts. To date US$74 million has been secured from the World Bank through the DRVP for execution of these projects.

The rehabilitation of the Victor Archer Building, the construction of the Dennery Wellness Centre, the SMART bloc at the Micoud Secondary School and extensive flood mitigation works are just a few initiatives undertaken through the DVRP.

The DVRP consists of several components, one being risk reduction and adaption measures. This component supports structural and non-structural flood and landslide risk reduction interventions and climate adaption measures to improve Saint Lucia’s resilience against current and future climate shocks. Another critical element of the DVRP is the emergency response to reconstruction projects.