$3.8M to Rebuild Three Dilapidated Bridges at Sophia

The Ministry of Housing and Water is investing $3.8 million to reconstruct three dilapidated bridges between Section ‘B’ and ‘C’ Turkeyen (Sophia), Georgetown that lead to the Bright Future’s Day Care, Pre-school and Nursery School.

Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Hon. Susan Rodrigues, visited the site on Monday, along with a team from the Central Housing and Planning Authority and representatives from Four Js Construction Services.

Minister Rodrigues stated that education delivery and adequate infrastructure play a fundamental role in the development of children and is therefore a key part of the government’s programmes and policies.

“In the coming years we want to ensure that all of the bridges and the accesses to schools, [including] footpaths and so on to schools across the country will be fixed, as a priority for our children,” she stated.

Materials are already on the ground and construction of the three new timber bridges will commence immediately. The Minister stated that these works are expected to be completed within the next two weeks.

Minister Rodrigues first visited the site on December 9, 2022, following the commissioning of the $51 million multi-purpose facility in the area. She was made aware of the issue by some of the teachers and other residents.

During Monday’s visit, the Principal of Bright Future’s Day Care, Pre-school and Nursery School, Ms. Sohodra Stephenson expressed satisfaction with the quick response from the Minister. She said the school, which currently has over sixty (60) students, was established in 2003. Over time the bridges became deplorable and she and other teachers at the school explored several avenues to have the matter addressed to no avail.

“We’re very very grateful for this because the bridge doesn’t only serve the school but it serves the entire environment,” she said, noting that parents and students hail from various parts of Georgetown.