Mr. Speaker,
I rise today to provide an update on the Establishment of the Project Management Office in support of Bermuda’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP).
Mr. Speaker,
Honourable Members will recall responsibility for the implementation of the Economic Recovery Plan transferred to the Ministry of Economy and Labour in February of this year. In March I reported to this Honourable House the Government had identified four lead initiatives – the rehabilitation of Tyne’s Bay infrastructure; the development of Uptown Northeast Hamilton; the development of the Casino Industry and the development of Vertical Farming. KPMG had been charged with working with stakeholders to deliver detailed action plans setting out key milestones, timelines, and actions.
Mr. Speaker,
I am pleased to report that the detailed action plans for each of the four priority initiatives were completed in April and stakeholders have continued the work required to move these initiatives forward. Honourable Members are reminded the aim of the ERP is to produce jobs, increase GDP and combined with other measures, lead us to a sustainable future.
Mr. Speaker,
To ensure successful implementation of the thirty-one initiatives under the ERP umbrella, the Government committed to the establishment of a dedicated Project Management Office (PMO). The PMO started its function on 1 June, 2022. The goal of the ERP PMO is first and foremost to ensure successful implementation of all the initiatives under the ERP; working to monitor, track, report and lend assistance where required, while placing significant emphasis on the four lead policy initiatives.
Mr. Speaker,
While the Government had initially intended to retain consulting resources who would be dedicated to the PMO effort, I am pleased to report the identification of talented and qualified public officers who have been re-assigned to the PMO. The PMO has been established under the leadership of Mr. Roger Todd, Programme Leader, on a two-year re-assignment from his directorship role.
Mr. Todd is an accomplished business leader and professional engineer with extensive experience in developing and managing major capital projects and change initiatives. Most notably, Mr. Todd led the electrification of the public bus fleet, the transition to LED street lighting and permitting of the recently constructed North Power Station.
Additionally, Mr. Richard Hazlewood, has been reassigned to the role of PMO, Monitoring Officer from his substantive post of Quality Assurance Officer. Mr. Hazelwood has a background in engineering and accounting with extensive project management experience. He has previously participated in the implementation of other significant government policy initiatives, such as Public Access to Information (PATI) and digitization of the government postal service.
The PMO Office is co-located in an area in the Government Administration building next to the Office of Project Management and Procurement. An essential physical placement to ensure effective collaboration given the infrastructure-rich priority initiatives.
Mr. Speaker,
By securing internal resources to lead out in the ERP PMO in a close to cost neutral scenario, the Government is now able to allocate its limited resources to retain subject matter experts to become directly engaged in progressing the individual initiatives on a project by project basis as required, particularly the lead initiatives.
Mr. Speaker,
I will now provide a brief update of our progress on these priorities:
- On the matter of Water and Waste Treatment Facility, the rehabilitation of the Tyne’s Bay infrastructure plant features heavily in this initiative and a full business case for its replacement is a work in progress as the initial first step. This phase is expected to be completed in coming months;
- The Uptown Development Authority in NE Hamilton has been associated with the South East Hamilton initiative to facilitate synergies. The Ministry is currently working via the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation Board to incorporate its views on the implementation plan;
- The Casino Industry Plan is currently with the Casino Gaming Commission as we look to ensure a strong partnership between the Commission and the Department of Workforce Development to prepare local talent to participate in this sector; and finally
- On the matter of the Vertical Farming Facility, while the details of the financing for the large-scale farm are being finalized, planning towards leveraging this initiative to support the development of small and medium sized vertical farms has been advanced. Internal consultation has commenced and will be followed by consultation with the local famers to ensure they are supported and have the opportunity to fully participate in this sector.
Mr. Speaker,
As a result of the Government’s focused attention, Honourable Members will already know ERP milestones in other areas have been achieved. Notably:
- The Economic Investment Certificate, is generating millions of dollars of new investment in Bermuda and is being used as an effective tool to encourage high net worth individuals to make substantial economic investments in Bermuda. I will provide a further update to this Honourable House in due course;
- Further Measures to Expand the Population, specifically, the process for Long Term Residents to apply for Permanent Residency in Bermuda has been addressed with a view to retaining these important stakeholders. Since January 1, 2022, the Department of Immigration has received applications under these legislative amendments;
- The legislative framework for the Sub-sea Communications Sector is complete and promotions have commenced to build awareness of Bermuda as a North Atlantic communications hub;
- The Online SME Marketplace, byBermuda, is live with efforts now underway to increase its effectiveness for the benefit of local entrepreneurs providing access to the global online marketplace.
Mr. Speaker,
I trust that it’s clear, the Government is committed to safeguarding and growing the Bermuda economy.
To be sure, the ERP PMO will be focused on implementation by:
- Monitoring long-term initiatives;
- Supplementing Department’s project management;
- Day-to-day robust focus on deliverables; and
- Providing specialist skills.
The PMO will use reputable project management tools to manage, track and report on the ERP. Additionally, the PMO will provide regular updates via the Government website on the ERP initiatives. To this end, the public can expect that the ERP section of the government portal will be updated shortly and will continue to be updated quarterly thereafter. The Government will issue a public advisory once the July updates are available.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.