Quality Construction Limited headed by Roy Garrawayn was recently awarded the contract for the project which has a value of more than four million dollars.

Speaking at a community meeting ahead of the project, Turnbull said: “I want to ensure that Mr Garraway and his team understand the importance of hiring people, and getting the locals involved in the construction and the trucking and the excavation so that we can feel a part of what we are building for, not just our children, but for our entire community”

He said one of the complaints received from members of the community is that every time something was being done for the island, it was done without the involvement of members of the community.

Turnbull said he was happy the Unity Government is making a push to invest resources into the rebuilding of Jost Van Dyke and also expressed hope that partnerships would be made between the contractors and the people of the island.

Turnbull previously complained that the island was left behind and said he had been trying for the better part of seven years to get the situation resolved.

And while alluding to concerns about the size and scope of the project, Turnbull said he knew there were questions about why the school was so big but said the question should instead be why not?

“If you have left this community behind for some 20-plus years and you have allowed the students of this facility to just be in this environment for so long, why not build for the future? Why not build to allow for community meetings to be had?” Turnbull asked.