Buccament Bay Project contractors get payment

The Buccament project is up and running, and at press time, all but three local contractors had received either all, or part payment for services they rendered on the project under the project’s former contractors, Ridgeview Construction.{{more}}

Close to 300 workers are back on site as the US$200 million project gets back on stream after a few months of hiccups, stemming from the firing of Ridgeview Contractors from the project.

Mark Coggle, of the International Construction & Engineering (ICE) group, who are now doing the construction of the resort for the developers, Harlequin Hotel and Resorts, told SEARCHLIGHT that they are confident that the project will now be moving full steam ahead.

“The original completion date is still achievable and is the target set for the

workforce,” a release from Mark Coggle states.

The resort, which will be operated by the Spanish hotel chain, Oasis resorts, is expected to be completed before the end of 2010.

Last month, SEARCHLIGHT revealed that as part of the fallout from the dismissal of Ridgeview Construction from the project and the halting of the project, about 50 or so local suppliers were owed approximately $5 million and were not sure if they were going to be paid.

Meetings were held between ICE representatives and the suppliers, one such meeting in SEARCHLIGHT’s presence and the suppliers were guaranteed that they would be paid.

The initial timetable that was given for payments to be made was not kept, raising serious concerns among the suppliers, especially those who were owed larger amonts of money.

While ICE had made payments to about 80 per cent of the suppliers who were owed, five suppliers, who combined, were owed approximately $2.5 million still remained unpaid.

But now, SEARCHLIGHT understands, the developers have been making good on their word.

The release which is signed by Coggle, who is the Chief Financial Officer of ICE group, states that an audit is still ongoing on some creditors’ accounts, but that “further payments will be made in September.”

“All valid creditors will be paid by the year end,” the release further states.

The Buccament project is a flagship tourism project that is expected to provide employment for approximately 1500 persons when fully operational.