Today, the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Michael Weeks, JP, MP and the Minister of Public Works, Lt. Col. the Hon. David A. Burch, OBE (Mil), ED, JP, MP, gave remarks at a joint post-Budget press conference in Prospect.
Ministry of Public Works Budget Overview
Good afternoon,
I’m pleased to be joining my ministerial colleague the Hon. Michael A. Weeks, JP, MP to highlight the details of the upcoming 2024/25 budget for the Ministry of Public Works. The operational budget consists pf $77.3 million dollars, the Capital Development Budget consists of $52.992 million dollars and the Capital Acquisition Budget consists of 3.4 million dollars.
This figure reflects an increase of $2.1 million dollars over the previous year – reflecting the 2.5% negotiated salary & wage increase, while underscoring our indication a year ago that this year’s budget would be the same as last years.
This decision creates the environment to produce a balanced budget. It was not an easy process – as most departments desired increases in their budgets.
That said – there was room to increase the Capital Expenditure budget to allow for the addressing of some of the more critical infrastructure needs of the country.
The two most pressing issues are the state of our roads and affordable housing.
Our roads, as we all know, are the lifeline of Bermuda, connecting businesses, individuals, and the entire community. Recognising the deteriorating condition of our public roads - we are committing a significant amount of money to road restoration. With an increase to our road paving budget, now standing at $5 million dollars, we aim to address the pervasive state of our roads head-on.
This investment more than doubles our capacity to improve road conditions and set out a plan to address not just potholes but the deteriorating state of the roads generally.
However, I must temper expectations with realism — the journey to smoother roads is a marathon, not a sprint. Part of our long-term strategy to improve our roads involves the acquisition of a new asphalt plant and equipment – which is crucial in supplying the material that we need to repair our roads.
This investment will improve how we approach road maintenance, enabling more frequent, efficient, and cost-effective operations. We anticipate the plant to be fully operational within six months, marking a significant milestone in our roadwork initiatives.
At present – I am pleased to confirm that East End Asphalt Plant is back in operation, and we have been purchasing asphalt from them to address the pothole issues. We will continue to do that as well as purchasing asphalt to continue the permanent reinstatement of our roads.
Turning our attention to the other pressing issue — affordable housing — the Ministry is pleased to announce an additional $10 million dollar allocation to the Bermuda Housing Corporation, the BHC.
This boost in funding for the BHC is a critical component of our strategy to alleviate the housing challenges faced by many Bermudians, worsened by the escalating cost of living.
Our goal is to expedite the availability of affordable homes, with several projects already underway by expanding the private sector rental programme.
In order to accelerate the provision of affordable housing options for Bermudians, the BHC will embark upon an ambitious plan to refurbish privately owned units, place them in the housing inventory to recover the investment and ultimately return them to their owners.
The expansion to this source will increase the inventory of affordable housing without waiting to build new.
In addition to these two areas, our budget includes improvement to critical infrastructure and environmental initiatives.
These areas include the continued stabilisation of the Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility, the stabilisation of major walls and rock faces along our highways, the commencement of work on the replacement of the Swing Bridge, the expansion of Rooftop Solar systems on Government buildings, and the expansion of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Public Works' budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year is a blueprint for progress designed to address immediate concerns while laying the groundwork for a resilient, sustainable future.
These are just some of the items that next year’s budget will cover and will be expanded further during the budget debates in the House of Assembly over the next few weeks.
Thank you.