MICOUD ROADS OPENING.

I am pleased to participate in this occasion to celebrate the official handing over of the
completed Micoud Roads Reconstruction Project which epitomizes another landmark
achievement in government's present program to provide adequate transport
infrastructure to the people of this country.

Transport facilitates growth and development in the all sectors of the economy such
as agriculture, manufacturing and tourism, and enables Saint Lucians to travel
unhindered from one point of the island to another.

In addition to stimulating socio-economic development, decent roads also contribute to

government's effort to reduce travel times and improve the standard of living of
residents in various communities. Increased travel times are not only an
inconvenience to the motoring public but also leads to higher vehicle operating cost
and hence foreign exchange losses. This in itself can have severe social and economic
consequences over the long term. Also it is imperative that commuters and road users at
the community level be ensured decent road infrastructure as a basic right.

According to statistics and studies, poor road infrastructure negatively impacts

economic growth. Building a secure road infrastructure network is therefore one of the
priorities of government. It is for this reason that the vision of the Ministry of
infrastructure i s to provide you the people of Saint Lucia with superior quality
transportation Infrastructure. This charge, as it is intrinsically articulated in the mandate
of the Ministry is not a wish, but it is an imperative that finds expression in the
infrastructural work programs associated with the Government’s Public Sector
Investment Plan.

Since 2016, the government through the Ministry has aggressively pursued
improvement in the road infrastructure in this country. Under the guidance of the Hon.
Minister Stephenson King and unwavering support from the Hon. Minister of Finance,
the Ministry has made significant efforts to improve the condition of our roads island
wide. Our goal is to p r o v i d e a c c e s s i b l e , secure and quality road infrastructure to

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all. The undertaking of the Micoud Roads Reconstruction project is one of many
investments by the Ministry of Infrastructure and by extension the Government to
achieve this goal.

The Ministry undertook this project via a Design Finance Build approach with the goal
of improving a number of roads w h i c h are key to the socioeconomic
development of the wider Micoud community. It is anticipated that the reconstruction
exercise will significantly reduce vehicle operating cost and bring greater comfort
to all, especially road users. Improvement to safety is paramount and it is expected
that this project will lead to greater efficiencies in the transportation of goods and
people and the provision of services in this part of the island.
The works were designed by the Contractor in keeping with the Employer’s
Requirements (ER).
As per the ER, the scope of works entailed:
1. Drainage structures
2. Concrete pavement and shoulders (where technically feasible)
3. Pedestrian sidewalks (where technically feasible)
4. Slope Stabilization
5. Signage and road safety furniture
The contractor designed to the following:
• A design speed of 50 kph
• Minimum pavement design life of 20 years
• Culvert design for a 1 in 25-year storm event
• Drainage channels for a 1 in 2-year storm event

The works were undertaken by Fresh Start Construction Company Limited and
supervised by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labour.

On May 22nd ,2017 an agreement was signed by Fresh Start Construction Company
Limited with the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labor for the Rehabilitation
of six roads in Micoud namely ,

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 1. Dugard La Courville.
2. La Courville /Paix Bouche .
3. Fond D’or
4. Ti Rocher Hill
5. Ti Rocher Segment
6. London Road (Deruisseaux)
Length (3100m) x width (6m)
Length (1493m) x width (5.1m)
Length (426m) x width (5m)
Length (120m) x width (6m)
Length (240m) x width (6m)
Length (696m) x width (6m)

The total length of roads rehabilitated is 6,075 m and the total project price stands
at EC$ XCD 18,550,274.67.

The contract duration was approximately 9 months. The start date was 1st June
2017.The Contractor successfully completed the works within time and budget in
February of 2018.

Supervision, quality control and contract management during the project period was
undertaken by personnel from the Ministry of Infrastructure namely:
NAME POST CONTACT
Len Leon Project Manager lleon@gosl.gov.lc
721-7164
Renata Philogene Mackie Project Engineer philogene@gosl.gov.lc
721-7141
Peter Cepal Quantity Surveyor peter.cepal@govt.lc
721-7142
Ray Jn Marie Engineering Assistant rjnmarie@gosl.gov.lc
721-7158
Bernard Mathurin Technician bemathurin@gosl.gov.lc
721-7174
Nadiyda Best Technician nadiyada.best@govt.lc
721-7172

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The project team from the contractor’s side comprised:
NAME POST CONTACT
L. Anderson Lake Chief Executive Officer Andy.lake@fsconstruct.com
715-8740
Lester Arnold Project Engineer Arnold@candw.lc
720-3611
Peter Felicien Construction Director pfelicien@hotmail.com
713-8444
Construction Director
Joan Lawrence Assistant Jlaw34@hotmail.com
717-0375

Sean Mariatte Assistant Project Coordinator 717-6758

Sherman Mangal Project Technician 715-8602

joand@fsconstruct.com
Joan Ferdinand Administrative Assistant 721-4448

The contractor’s performance has been nothing short of outstanding. The quality of
works produced on this project is second to none. The Ministry is extremely pleased with
the quality of work and the cooperation coming out of Fresh Start and would like to thank
Mr Anderson Lake and Mr Peter Felicien for their commitment to delivering the project
with exceptional quality, within budget and within time. I also want to thank the Ministry’s
team in their relentless pursuit of work excellence. I wish to complement especially the
Ministry’s Project Manager, Mr Len Robertson Leon and his crew for a job well done.
Also we thank you the people of Micoud for your patience during these 9 long months
of dust, noise and other inconveniences. Without you there would be no project. And last
but not least we want to thank the Hon. Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance for
authorizing and securing the funding for the project.

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The residents of Micoud have every reason to take pride in the quality of infrastructure
that they have been entrusted with. Because of the high quality and the concrete road
surfacing, you the people are guaranteed roads that will last for decades to come.

Progressively this Ministry is turning more and more to concrete pavements. While they
have a high initial capital cost over the long term, concrete pavements are more
economical than flexible or asphalt pavements. The Ministry intends to duplicate these
efforts over the rest of the country over time.

The Ministry h a s the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to ensure that the over 1000 km o f national

road network is in good condition; a very difficult task at that with the limited fiscal
resources available. Nonetheless with the support of the Ministry of Finance we at the
Ministry of Infrastructure are committed to bringing quality infrastructure to all
communities. More work than ever is being done to improve the maintenance of roads
and bridges island wide to ensure that Saint Lucians h a v e access to adequate road
infrastructure wherever they are. In this financial year, the Ministry of Infrastructure will
continue to work diligently to upscale the provision of adequate infrastructure and
services, where necessary, to all communities.

In undertaking projects care of the environment is paramount to us at the Ministry of

Infrastructure and I must say that I a m p l e a s e d to n o t e t h a t t h a t d u r i n g t h e
c o n s t r u c t i o n p ro ce ss , the Ministry and contractor did ensure proper environmental
management to minimize negative impacts to the communities along the road. I a m
also pleased at the cooperation received from the
Utility companies such as WASCO, LIME, LUCELEC and FLOW to
ensure minimum disruption to the services provided to the community. This in itself
confirms that our responsibility as the providers of transport infrastructure and services
to the nation does not exist in isolation. Our contribution forms part and parcel of the
work of other government departments, state institutions and society as a whole.

As we move forward, the Ministry will continue to improve the quality of the road
infrastructure and services in both rural and urban areas. In addition to road

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construction and maintenance, we will pursue the rollout of an integrated transport
infrastructure which will allow for more effective road planning a n d r e s p o n s e t o
infrastructural needs.

The Ministry will also implement new interventions to improve public transport to
facilitate the ease of movement of passengers and goods and ensure greater road
safety. Ladies and gentlemen, in the space of just over 2 years, the Ministry has made
significant strides to improve on the existing i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l stock, yet we
remain conscious of the mammoth task that lies ahead. A lot still needs to be done to
address the backlog of maintenance that exists.

The Ministry of Infrastructure is committed to work with other government institutions,

state owned companies and agencies, the private sector, civil society and the general
public to provide adequate infrastructure and services for the benefit and welfare of all
St. Lucians. As we move forward in fulfilling our mandate as a support Ministry, we seek
your patience and unwavering support as we strive to bring quality infrastructure to all.

I THANK YOU

May 2018.

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