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Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 27, 2015 (SKNIS): Construction of the block of temporary classrooms at Taylor’s Range to house 1st and 2nd form students of the Basseterre High School is proceeding ahead of schedule and officials have predicted that it will be completed by the third week of December this year. This would be a great opportunity for those who recently completed their civil construction course to get onto a real project. Hopefully, some do.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, the Honourable Shawn Richards, toured the site adjacent to the Beach Allen Primary School on Tuesday (October 27). While there he received an update from Project Manager, John Thomas of Innotech Services Ltd.

“The structure, substructure and structural elements are 90 percent complete,” Mr. Thomas stated. “The roofs we should have completed I would say in another week, so basically we are recording a week and a half ahead of progress on the jobs. … We can assure that this job is going to be finished on time.”

Mr. Thomas described most of the remaining work as “decoration,” suggesting that they can be done without major effort, barring any unforeseen circumstances. These include installing the windows, doors, floor and internal cladding which will control the infiltration of weather elements.

Carl Francis is overseeing the construction project on behalf of the Ministry of Education. He reported that the work is proceeding well and the workers are dedicated to the task at hand.

“It is a very good project in terms of building the classrooms out of board for the children,” he stated, hinting at the shorter time span and efficiency involved in construction using wood.

Deputy Prime Minister Richards said he was pleased with the process which will add 18 classrooms to the temporary site. The site currently houses 3rd form students. Student Abion Stevens gave the temporary classrooms positive reviews, noting that they are spacious and accommodating.

The Government has pledged to construct a new Basseterre High School following a number of reported ailments that affected students and teachers at the old facility over a number of years.