Contractor says all his 7 school jobs almost complete

PETERSFIELD, Westmoreland — While several schools in western Jamaica still have a long way to go to repair damage inflicted by last October’s Hurricane Melissa, Petersfield Primary in Westmoreland is now 98 per cent complete. There are only a few doors and windows left to be installed. The Petersfield project is one of seven being undertaken by Archistruct Limited. Others include William Knibb High in Trelawny and five schools in St Ann. According to owner and managing director of the 14-year-old company Chadwick Lawrence, all the schools are almost 100 per cent repaired. “The minister [of education] did say she’s holding us accountable, so I take that one seriously. I couldn’t afford to disappoint her,” he told the Jamaica Observer Wednesday. With a degree in engineering and a master’s in construction project management, Lawrence is supported by a team of qualified construction professionals.

“It is no secret sauce; it’s just a matter of management and execution of tasks based on schedule and procuring materials on time. That is what I do. We use a lot of people from the area, as well as people from different areas, as needed. At Petersfield, we did a lot of night and day work to get it finished,” Lawrence explained when asked the secret to his success in having the schools ready for September. “It boils down to one expression: Construction is about the joy of creating. It is nice to just see the students inside the classroom; it’s a genuinely nice feeling to see the students in the classroom learning and the teachers teaching in a comfortable space. When you talk with the teachers and the principals and they tell you that they are happy with the product they have received because it’s better than it was before... that really brings the joy of creating,” he said. The…