Dominica: Contract for Kalinago Multipurpose Center & Emergency Shelter Construction signed

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit-led government of Dominica inked on Monday, January 7, 2025, a deal worth EC$7.6 million with local companies OYO Construction Inc. and Virtuoso Architects Ltd (Joint Venture) for building the Kalinago Territory Multipurpose Centre and Emergency Shelter.

The project in Bataca is part of the Building Resilience and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change and Disaster Risk in the Kalinago Territory project. It also includes the development of a Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Plan and an Inclusive Public Awareness and Education Campaign on Disaster Risk and Climate Adaptation for the Kalinago Territory. 

The Canadian government, through the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund managed by the Caribbean Development Bank, and the Dominican government have co-financed the project. While the former provides EC$5.5 million in grant funding, the latter gives EC$3 million for the key project’s implementation. 

The Kalinago Territory, which is home to the largest remaining Indigenous community in the Caribbean, is located along Dominica’s northeast coast and is exposed to severe storms, which necessitates programmes for their protection. 

Prime Minister Skerrit welcomes facility

PM Skerrit, who has time and again emphasized to make Dominica the planet’s first climate-resilient nation, said the new facility makes evident his government’s mission to promoting resilience and empowerment among the Kalinago community. 

Speaking at the contract-signing event, he expressed happiness over the project and for the Kalinago people. He called the shelter a major investment and a part of his government’s commitment to the community’s development. The prime minister called the project a “major edifice in the Kalinago Territory”. 

“What a way to start the New Year as the Indigenous people of Dominica, with this major gift of this facility that will certainly enhance the resilience of the people; enhance the architectural beauty of the area- because this will be a true architectural masterpiece that will serve as a true embodiment of the Kalinago people, your history and your tradition,” he said. 

Reiterating the agenda of making Dominica resilient, the PM said the idea is not only to make the country as a whole resilient but also communities and households resilient. 

He said the purpose of constructing the multipurpose emergency centres across Dominica is to ensure that places such as schools and churches are not used to shelter people so that children’s education is not hampered. Skerrit repeated the remark during his interaction with the media at the site of the new Dominica Grammar School which he inspected after speaking at the contract-signing event. 

Skerrit said the new facility is not to prevent disasters. Taking a dig at countries that have high carbon emissions affecting the climate and allegedly do little to address the issue, he said countries such as Dominica have decided to do things to mitigate the impact of climate change. 

“The vision I espoused in the United Nations in 2017 a few days after the hurricanes in Dominica was to do that very thing,” the prime minister said. 

He also said that Dominica’s national strategy to deal with climate change is more about just infrastructure but also legislation, fiscal policies, debt management and health and education systems. Skerrit added that no other country in the world has a national strategy on climate change like Dominica. 

PM reveals there were budget issues

Speaking about the facility in Kalinago Territory, the PM revealed there were budget issues. He said the Minister for the Environment and Kalinago Upliftment, Cozier Frederick, had told him that the government exceeded the budget after a tender process fetched EC$5.5 million. He asked the prime minister that another EC$2.5 million was required. Skerrit said he had to take a call on finding the additional funding and he eventually decided to authorize the government to put in the extra money and not going back to public tender which could have delayed things. 

He said the contract-signing event happened because of that decision. The construction of the project will cost EC$7.6 million while the auxiliary management expenses will take the total to EC$8.5 million. 

Kalinago Upliftment speaks about project

Speaking on the occasion, Frederick said the facility will work on long-term recovery from disasters, resilience and also preservation of cultural heritage.

“I am really happy to be part of a government that continues to honour the heritage of the Kalinago people. It should not only serve as an emergency center but as a cultural gathering space where we showcase the arts and crafts of the Kalinago people. We shall experience and immerse ourselves in our culture in that particular space,” the minister added. 

Lucien Blackmoore, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Rural Modernisation and Kalinago Upliftment, underscored the significance of the facility to Dominica’s overarching goal to become the planet’s first climate-resilient nation.

About the project, he said, “It is more than just a project; it is a symbol of progress, resilience, and collaboration.”

The Dominican government said in a post on its official Facebook page. “The facility will enhance resilience and disaster preparedness within the Kalinago Territory while also serving as a centre for cultural preservation and the strengthening of community ties.”

Contract Signing For Kalinago Multipurpose Center & Emergency Shelter Construction. pic.twitter.com/LwB32q645Y

— Roosevelt Skerrit (@SkerritR) January 7, 2025

About Kalinago facility

The facility in Kalinago Territory will have features such as a dormitory accommodating 125 beds, washrooms, kitchen, dining area, food and material storage spaces, emergency operations unit, library, and computer room, among others. There will also be back-up systems for communication, 18kW power generation backed by a standby diesel generator and a capacity to store 15,000 gallons of water to ensure the building remains self-sufficient during emergencies. 

The design of the building is not just an architectural masterpiece and has eco-friendly features such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting but can also withstand seismic tremors and strong winds measuring up to category five.