RDA’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Anthony McMaster described this as a promising sign for the enabling of the BVI to export its contractors in the future.

McMaster, who was speaking during a recent contract signing ceremony, attributes the increase to the training sessions the RDA has been hosting for local contractors.

“When we started this journey, we were a bit disappointed because we were only receiving one and two tenderers. Since March, we have had several training sessions and I can say that the average turn out of contractors has been in the region of 20. That has been a big plus for the territory,” he said at the time.

“We also had a bid opening for the Hope Hill project where we had eight tenders being submitted. That says to me that we are on the right track and we are getting more participation from our local contractors,” McMaster added.

Very competitive bids

In addition to the high volume of interest shown by local contractors, the RDA boss said they have also been submitting carefully-thought-out bids.

He said: “From the information that I have seen from the previous bids submitted, there seems to be very competitive price quotations, so it says to me that the contractors are actually taking their time, and they are pricing their jobs precisely and it is becoming very competitive.”

“It is a very good thing because it means also that we are actually on the road to having contractors to the point where we will be able to export a few of them in time to come,” he stated.

The RDA boss said that his institution will continue to provide opportunities for local contractors to aid in their development.

He said that a number of training sessions will continue to be held to ensure that contractors are knowledgeable about the requirements of the Caribbean Development Bank, which must be fulfilled to successfully secure a tender.