ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, SEP. 2, 2020 – In an effort to create and sustain a conducive learning and teaching environment for teachers and students, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Public Utilities, Energy, Transport & Implementation continues to work collaboratively with the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development, Religious Affairs and Information in assurance of this reality. 

School refurbishment, for the period 2020, is funded through three main sources, which are the Government of Grenada (local fund), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through programmes of the Grenada Education Enhancement Project (GEEP) and the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF).

In 2019, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development secured EC $14 million additional financing from the Regional Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (RDVR) for forty-seven (47) high priority schools, in need of refurbishment. These projects are in the process of bidding and refurbishment is expected to commence in the last quarter of 2020 and end in the first quarter of 2021.

While the procurement process for each of these projects differs, one stipulation of the Procurement Board for Maintenance of Schools, or any project required to be funded under the local budgetary line ‘Government of Grenada: projects that exceed EC $15,000’, is that it must be tendered. The process involves bidding from contractors and undertaking an evaluation of the contactors’ experience and qualifications, before a contract can be awarded.

The U.S. $15 million signed agreement between the Government of Grenada and the Caribbean Development Bank, under the Grenada Enhancement Project (GEEP), has secured funding for nine (9) schools to date. The first phase of the project entails expansion and rehabilitation work in six (6) schools, in Grenada. Presently, final designs and costings are in progress for two (2) secondary schools, which will be relocated, along with one (1) primary school, to be built in the same location. Under BNTF, construction, expansion and rehabilitation for three (3) pre-primary schools continues at an estimated cost of EC $5 million.

General school maintenance is ongoing. In the academic year 2019, EC $1.2 million was spent on day-to-day major and minor repairs in schools throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Both Ministries involve remain committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for the nation’s teachers and students.

The following is a breakdown on the status on the school rehabilitation projects, under the Regional Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (RDVR):