A BACKLOG of unpaid bills is holding up completion of the Arch Hall Fire Station in St Thomas and preventing the country from throwing open the doors of its first fire academy to regional firefighters.
DAILY NATION investigations have revealed that the contractors on the project had been unable to deliver it by the projected mid-2015 completion date because Government had failed to honour requests for payments submitted after being verified by the architects and quantity surveyors.
Yesterday, a highly-placed Government source confirmed that contractor Steve Building Works Ltd was owed almost $2 million, a sum that could rise to more than $2.5 million when the usual penalties and interest are added.
And in response, Opposition Leader Mia Mottley described the matter as a huge disgrace that has added reduced fire and ambulance coverage to the issues of poor garbage collection and dry taps that have faced residents of the north of the country for well over a year. (RRM)
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