CIP projects fuel economic recovery

Recent developments involving key CNMI capital improvement projects bode well for a recovering economy, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.

With the deadline for proposals passed last week, selection of a contractor for the design and construction of the new Juvenile Detention Facility has begun.

According to Prison Task Force Chair Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, a contract award is expected within the next two weeks and construction is slated to begin 90 to 100 days after the award. The facility is slated to take a year and three months to complete.

Meanwhile, the first design development documents, or working drawings for the new Adult Prison will be presented to the Prison Task Force this week and are targeted for bid in mid-December.

In anticipation of the new prison on the site of the Susupe Fire Station, the construction of a new fire station adjacent to the MTC building has been accelerated and is targeted for completion by December of this year.

With the full design of the $22 million Marpi Sanitary Landfill received just last week, final review is underway in anticipation of the project’s bid.

According to John Harder, program manager of the Division of Solid Waste Management, a final review is being taken at the design before presentation to the Solid Waste Task Force within the next few weeks.

Invitation for bids for construction are scheduled for release next month. The first of several required permits for the project were issued last week by Coastal Resources Management and the Division of Environmental Quality.

Following interviews earlier this month with the top four proposers for the new Department of Public Health building, Honolulu-based Leo A. Daly has been chosen as the firm to design the facility which will include a hemodialysis unit with 25 hemodialysis stations and 3 clinics. The new building will be constructed adjacent to the Commonwealth Health Center.

On the education front, project delays have been resolved and Kagman Elementary School will open its doors to its first class of students September 5. Sinapalo Elementary School has also seen development as construction resumed earlier this month to complete eight classrooms already begun and to add eight more.

Design of Kagman Junior High School is ongoing and completion is expected in October. An Intent to Award for the design and construction of the $5.6 million Kagman High School has been issued to Guam Pacific Power Corporation. Also, an Intent to Award has been issued for the $4.8 million Koblerville High School to Tano Group, Inc.

On Tinian, construction of a steel-frame building has begun for the Northern Marianas College campus. And on Rota, contracts have been recently awarded for both the Man-Amko Center in Sinapalo and the Rota Public Library.

The latest 702 CIP plan appropriates $95.3 million for 25 projects on Saipan, 13 projects on Rota and 10 projects on Tinian.