WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears; Parliamentary Secretary Bacchus Rolle; Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles LaRoda; Trevor Newbold, finance officer in the Ministry of Works and Utilities; Ryan Rahming, general manager of BahaMix; Rev Dr Delton Fernander; Rev Laish Boyd, and other BahaMix staff at the asphalt plant ribbon cutting. Photo: Austin Fernander
By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears commissioned a production facility, the Astec Double Barrel Six Pack Asphalt Plant, on Friday.
The minister said the day marked a significant landmark in the progress of the “extraordinary facility” and this “major development” was a “long time in the works”.
He said BahaMix proposed a few years ago that the current Almix Asphalt Plant would be replaced with a more efficient and mechanically advanced plant with recyclable capabilities to produce cost savings over the ensuing fiscal period.
“BahaMix supplies asphalt to the public and private sectors. It fulfils a critical role as a part of the government’s agenda to provide and maintain proper roads and paved surfaces, but it is not only the public infrastructure, churches, and the parking lot of churches, civic and cultural institutions also are beneficiaries of the resources, the expertise of BahaMix,” Mr Sears said.
“The BahaMix Almix Asphalt Plant production data reveals that from the year 2002 to present, the Almix plant produced a total of 536,116.7 tonnes of asphalt and has been operating for 15 years. That is the old plant, its state of disrepair is clearly indicated as a direct result of its age of existence. The metal corrosion to individual plant components is obvious, and subsequently maintenance costs were reflective of the same.
“Down time for repairs therefore impacted the economic efficiency of plant operations. The estimated downtime for plant repairs over the last two years translates into an average plant repair costs of $400,000 annually, or approximately $1,095 per day. The need for a new asphalt production facility was self-evident. On February 21, 2019, BahaMix proposed that the current oil mix asphalt plant be replaced with a more efficient and mechanically advanced plant with recyclable capabilities to produce cost savings over the ensuing fiscal period.
“The proposal was accepted and approved by the Cabinet to purchase an Astec manufacturing asphalt plant on March 11, 2019, at a cost of $3,519,870. BahaMix purchased the new state of the art asphalt plant from Astec, a plant manufacturing company located in Chattanooga, Tennessee,”
He said the new plant is designed to produce 200 tonnes of asphalt per hour and offers technology that is needed to meet the current demands.
Unlike the existing asphalt plant, which was manufactured 17 years ago, the new Astec double barrel six pack is a “counter flow zero emissions” plant and is thereby classified as environmentally friendly with a big baghouse - lowering the carbon footprint of The Bahamas, which eliminates atmospheric contamination.
Mr Sears highlighted: “On February 12, 2020, the contract was signed, and construction began. Concrete Concepts completed 80 percent of the works before contractual issues arose. The construction came to a complete halt in June of 2021. BahaMix re-tendered the works and the tender was won by Dove Tail Construction in the amount of $124,068. Dove Tail Construction commenced construction works on January 25, 2022.
“In anticipation of the construction aspects of the asphalt plants, BahaMix went out to tender for the construction of the foundation supports in the amount of $304,000. On March 16, 2020, the Astec Asphalt Plant arrived in Nassau and in April 2020, Cabinet approved additional funding in the amount of $2,587,600 to cover the non-waiver of custom duty, incurred freight expenses, and foundation construction costs.”