Government will have to pay an additional $10.6 million to complete the beleaguered School Meals Centre project at Six Roads, St Philip, more than ten years after construction began.According to an update laid before Parliament by the Director of Finance and Economic Affairs Ian Carrington late Thursday, a project manager has been appointed, and work on the facility, which has been halted since July 2016, is expected to get underway soon.“The Government has concluded that it is important to complete the project. Consequently, it has been determined by an independent quantity surveyor that it will cost approximately $10.60 million more to complete the project, and construction is set to recommence in the current financial year. As such, an amount of $3 million has been provided in this year’s Estimates,” Carrington wrote.Under the former Democratic Labour Party administration, the School Meals Centre, which was proposed to provide meals to 20 schools and cater to emergency situations in the event of a national disaster, was to be constructed between August 2012 and January 2014, by an undisclosed firm, for $19.9 million.Part of that figure – $6.66 million – was allocated for the procurement and installation of kitchen equipment.
