Unfinished ADOMS building forces government to seek alternative venue for summit

The government is considering an alternative venue to host the CARICOM/Cuba summit, which has been originally scheduled for the ADOMS Building in early December.
Melford Nicholas, information minister, explained at yesterday’s post-Cabinet briefing that Cabinet in anticipation of the ADOMS building not being completed by the time of the summit, has already sought venues which could be ready in short order.
He, however, said that his colleagues “still desire” the facility to accommodate the event, which will host 15 leaders from CARICOM and foreign affairs specialists.
According to him, a “value management standpoint” has engineered the move to find an alternative venue to the ADOMS Building, which is located on Factory Road, since it has been plagued with continuous delays and increasing building cost.
In September, Nicholas reported that the Factory Road facility cost an astounding $33 million after originally being pegged at $25 million.
He revealed that Cabinet held discussions with Wendell Marshall, project manager, before approving the re-financing of the project. The information minister added that this was not the first instance additional funds had to be allocated.
Nicholas further stated that Cabinet has expressed its “displeasure” in the altered timeline for the three-storey building. He stressed that the Cabinet members recognise the need for an audit of the project, four years after its 2013 ground-breaking.
“Clearly, we will have to take stock of the situation,” the Cabinet minister declared. He surmised that the project had design issues from the beginning and going past the construction deadline is “the inevitable conclusion”.