 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| News Releases | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
PRESS
RELEASE
The unplanned removal of this school from the small nation’s already strained educational infrastructure system created a major crisis. A unique financing approach using EXIM Bank’s programs provided the solution and allowed the Grenadian Ministry of Education to move forward with a well designed, corrosion resistant, new school building without causing undue strain on the national budget. According to ARMCG Project Manager David Roebuck, “EXIM Bank and SouthTrust Bank worked closely with our firm to find a solution to the financing challenges presented by the project. We came up with an innovative game plan and EXIM and SouthTrust made it work from a financing perspective.” The new school will serve approximately 700 students and consist of two main buildings (with a total area of approximately 17,500 square feet) The school is constructed of reinforced concrete blocks, precast and prestressed concrete planks, and a limited number of specially coated steel frames manufactured in the United States. Each building has two stories with an open-air ventilation system consisting of louvers to utilize the sea breezes. The school includes classrooms, an office, a kitchen, a cafeteria area, an assembly area, and a designated staff lounge/meeting area. PROJECT HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Sauteurs, the largest village on Grenada’s northern coast, originally received its name from the French phrase for the nearby coastal cliffs, “Morne des Sauteurs” (or Carib’s Leap). The word “sauteurs” means “leap or jump,” and in this case refers to the Carib people who first inhabited the island circa 700 A.D. In 1651, many Caribs leaped to their deaths from the cliffs rather than accept defeat and capture by the French. The French nevertheless colonized the island and changed the name from Camaghogne to La Grenade. As part of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the French turned over the island to the British, and it became officially known as Grenada.
The first Grenadians were Amerindians from the Arawak peoples of Venezuela and Guyana. The Arawak, who were excellent seamen, reached the island 2000 years ago. They were later joined and defeated by another tribe of Amerindians, the Caribs, who controlled the island until defeated by the French. ORIGINAL SCHOOL STRUCTURE AT SAUTEURS
Following an assessment by a Grenadian structural engineer that concluded the school building was unsafe, the Ministry of Education hired ARMCG to determine if repairs to the school were feasible. Engineers from ARMCG performed a condition assessment of the existing structure and determined that the structural steel corrosion was so pervasive and severe that a complete demolition and replacement effort was needed. ARMCG engineers concurred with previous recommendations that the structure should not be used due to safety concerns. The government agreed with ARMCG’s recommendations and evacuated the school. As a result of the closing of the school, students had to be separated and taught at various locations. A local demolition contractor was hired to demolish the structure, remove the debris and prepare the site for rebuilding.
THE SOLUTION Since the emergency school replacement project was unforeseen and therefore not included in the Ministry’s capital budget, the only feasible option for project funding was a complete financing package providing favorable loan terms and a quick approval process. The team of ARMCG, SouthTrust Bank and EXIM Bank developed an innovative lending approach that provided 100% financing and met the needs of the Grenadian government. This approach included maximizing the use of U.S. produced materials and services that could be financed under EXIM Bank’s programs and using private export finance insurance to cover the risk of the downpayment and the local content portion of the project. Design of the new school project was performed by ARMCG architects, structural engineers and civil engineers based on international building code standards. Although historically Grenada has been spared from most hurricane events in the region, it is still considered to be subject to high wind events by the building codes, and the school structure was designed to withstand 140 mile per hour wind loadings. (As a consequence of the design, the government designated the new school structure as a storm shelter for the Sauteurs residents.) The documented problems with corrosion of the original structure led to an increased awareness of the exposure environment for the new school during the design process and resulted in the use of precast, prestressed concrete with extra concrete cover for the embedded reinforcing steel and concrete block. The only exposed structural steel members in the project are the interior frames that support the first floor concrete planks at locations where hanging partition walls were specified. These frames are coated with a corrosion resistant epoxy material that will withstand the corrosive conditions for many years before requiring any maintenance.
MATERIAL PROCUREMENT, SHIPPING AND IMPORTATION Logistics was a major issue during the project, particularly considering the significant amounts of construction materials that were shipped from the U.S. Transport of these materials was then required from the port at the southern end of the island to the project site at the northern end. Although the straight-line distance was less than twenty miles, the poor condition and narrowness of the roads created problems for the large trucks and substantially increased cost and time requirements for delivery. ARMCG construction managers had anticipated this problem and had even considered constructing a temporary port in Sauteurs Bay before abandoning the idea due to ocean-going craft landing concerns in the relatively shallow water.
A partial listing of the U.S. companies/suppliers furnishing materials or equipment for this project include: · Spancrete of Florida (precast concrete hollowcore panels) · HILTI (epoxy anchoring systems) · Athens Steel, Inc. (steel framing) · Hughes Supply (plumbing supplies) · Solley Rental (crane rental) · Athens Hardware (general construction supplies) · Northeast Georgia Fence (fence) · In/Ex Systems (folding doors) · Armstrong and Dobbs (general construction supplies) CONSTRUCTION During a subsurface condition investigation before the actual construction began, ARMCG discovered a layer of construction debris and unconsolidated fill material in areas where the proposed new buildings were to be located. The debris layers, which were composed of material unsuitable to support the foundations of the proposed buildings, were apparently created during the demolition process by the contractor hired by the government. In order to adequately support the new buildings, all of the debris material had to be excavated, removed and replaced with suitable fill material that was properly compacted. ARMCG took on this responsibility in order to insure that the site preparation work was done correctly and in a timely manner. SouthTrust Bank and EXIM Bank provided the assistance necessary for an extension of the project loan (Loan MSM-E-232397) due to the increased duration of the site work/foundation phase of construction. The initial conceptual design by ARMCG called for a complete precast concrete panel structure. However, scheduling issues, the potential for earthquakes in the region, and other complications resulted in ARMCG optimizing their final design to consist of an integrated system of reinforced concrete block walls, precast concrete floor and roof panels, and a minimal amount of interior structural steel (coated for corrosion protection). The design/build approach enabled the design changes to be implemented with minimal effect on project cost or schedule. The site slope and building size provided challenges for positioning the crane equipment required to lift the precast panels into position. Staging the correct panels with very few level surfaces was handled through proactive management of outside trucking services. In addition, a special entrance road was constructed over adjacent private property. Procurement of the entrance road required negotiations between ARMCG, the Government of Grenada and the property owners to allow the road to be constructed during the rainy season and to provide storm water control.
CONCLUSION The financing expertise and support provided by EXIM Bank and SouthTrust Bankalong with the project development, design and construction expertise of ARMCG were combined to meet a critical need in the small island nation of Grenada. The resulting project will provide a new school facility that will serve the children of Grenada for many years. The Export Import Bank of the United States, SouthTrust Bank, and Armentrout Roebuck Matheny Consulting Group, PC responded effectively to each challenge presented by the project. For questions concerning this press
release or the project itself, contact David M. Roebuck or M. Bret
Thurmond at (706) 548-8211. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
