| |
Contact:
Darnley Lebourne
Friday, December 4, 2009 – The long-standing and imminent threat of
coastal erosion at the Eastern end of the Hewanorra Airport is being addressed
by the Government of Saint Lucia through the Ministry of Communications & Works.
The project which was just completed involves the implementation of an EC $290,
000 dollar mitigation project. The project was funded by the Caribbean
Development Bank under its Small Mitigation Works facility.
The project was implemented by a contractor from the south of the island and was
designed to undertake remedial works as an intervention to address significant
damage to the coastline in the area in question by Hurricane Lennie and
subsequent storms. The project involved the placement of One Thousand, One
Hundred (1100, 000) cubic meters of boulders at the seaward end as sea defense
and the back-filling of over 800 cubic meters of aggregates to stabilize the
area in question.
The Ministry of Communications & Works was responsible for project oversight and
monitoring as well as project design, project estimates and the tendering
process.
The implementation of this project would result in the strengthening of the
section of the coastline, which has been compromised over the years and was
particularly affected in November 1999 after Hurricane Lennie. The remedial
works undertaken by the Ministry has resulted in the removal of the long
standing threat to that section of the Castries Vieux Fort Highway and
infrastructure related to the Hewanorra Airport, i.e. fencing and runway.
Through the implementation of this project, Government has averted the
likelihood of millions of dollars damage to public infrastructure through wave
action from future storms and Hurricanes.
________________________
Darnley Lebourne
Press Secretary
|