Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

June 18th, 2009

Four Seasons Resort Nevis Undergoing Restoration

DCK International Operations Officers

DCK International Operations Officers

Charlestown, Nevis
June 18, 2009

The interview phase for applicants selected from over 600 applicants for work with Ocean View Construction earlier this week is expected to commence on Monday June 22.

Project Manager of the Construction Company Mr. Jesus Hinojosa told the Department of Information on Wednesday that the process of sorting through the applications from a two-day job fair which concluded on Tuesday had commenced.

“We want to review all the applications from now to the end of the week. By Monday we will start a process of interviewing some of the persons that will have a job right away,” he said.

The Mexico based Company was subcontracted by Pittsburgh based DCK International to commence restoration work at the Four Seasons Resort on Nevis. The hotel was the island’s single largest employer, prior to its closure earlier this year, due to damage sustained during the passage of Hurricane Omar in 2008.

Mr. Hinojosa also advised applicants to be patient since jobs would not be immediately available to all the successful applicants.

“It is important to say that some of the specialties we don’t need them right away… So it is important for the painters and other specialties to know that we don’t need them right away and we are going to call them in two or three months once we start the project.

“We just want everybody who went to the job fair to be patient because we don’t have a job right away for everyone but if they wait a little bit and as we progress in the project we will be calling more and more and different trades,” he said.

Mr. Hinojosa noted that construction work was expected to commence on the six to seven month project on June 29 but safety training was an important component which had to be completed ahead of works.

“We are going to start interviewing the guys on the 22nd and once we start hiring them they are going to be needed to start doing the safety training which is going to take two or three days for each individual and it takes time.

“So we are thinking that by the 29th, we are going to be scheduling work but from the 23 to the 29th it’s going to be basically safety training for the workers,” he explained.

Meantime, Operations Officer DCK International Mr. John Gallo disclosed that there local subcontractors were expected to be employed along with Ocean View Construction during the project but that stage had not yet commenced.

He also commented on the matters of safety for employees on the project.

“They will be brought here and trained here in our conference room we have all the video and stuff they will be seeing on safety and our safety programme. We have to get them up to speed on exactly what they have to do with our safety programme in conjunction with the form that they signed at the job fair,” he said.

Project Manager of DCK International Mr. Enrique Salinas said all the work that had so far been done with regard to the recruitment of local workers was all within the island’s regulations

He noted that his company had been working in close collaboration with the Department of Labour which had given them invaluable assistance.

Mr. Salinas also said that the information collected during the job fair provided a data base for other sub contractors from other disciplines. He said it would streamline the process as the project moved forward.

He said the move meant that the new sub contractors local or foreign would not have to go through the process again and as such the process of recruitment would be considerably expedited.

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Related posts:

  1. Open Letter To Four Seasons Resort Employees
  2. Nevis Premier Reports On Four Seasons Resort Closing
  3. Four Seasons Resort Nevis Gets WHACKED By Hurricane
  4. Nevis Tourism Hurt By Closure Of Four Seasons Resort
  5. Nevis Premier Reports On Closed Four Seasons Resort


May 18th, 2009

Geothermal Agreement Will Protect Nevis’ Environment

Geothermal Well Head - Hamilton Estate, Nevis

Geothermal Well Head – Hamilton Estate, Nevis

Charlestown, Nevis
May 18, 2009

An elaborate system in the Geothermal Resource Agreement that granted geothermal developers West Indies Power Nevis Ltd. permits, licences and concessions for the geothermal resource areas on Nevis, will also protect the environment and the people of Nevis.

Legal Advisor in the Nevis Island Administration Mr. Patrice Nisbett told the Department of Information recently that the most important was the NIA’s grant of concession to WIP.

“What we have done is to grant a temporary concession to WIP whereby through the process of certification by December 31, 2010, WIP will have to establish that there is an economically developable quantity of geothermal resource in the two specified areas, in order for there to be an extension of that particular concession,” he said.

Mr. Nisbett further explained that the certification process had to be conducted by an independent experienced reservoir engineer, in accordance with geothermal resource industry practices.

He said if WIP failed to meet the requirements that were outlined in the agreement, the temporary concession which had been granted would lapse.

The Legal Advisor also pointed to the provisions made in the Contract that would address environmental concerns which he said would protect the people of Nevis and the geothermal resource.

West Indies Power has been mandated under the agreement, to put in place certain bonds in relation to the licensed areas at Spring Hill and in Upper Jessups.

The Company is obligated to post Performance Bonds in the sum of US$125,000 for each area. For every well dug by WIP in its pursuit of the geothermal resource, the Company is required to post a Reclamation Bond in the amount of US$20,000.

Mr. Nisbett explained that the Bonds would provide the government with funds to deal with any difficulties or mishaps created as a result of the activities of WIP in the related geothermal resource areas.

With regard to protection of the resource, depletion provisions were placed on WIP in the Agreement which ensured that the resource was not unduly depleted.

“Also the company is mandated at the permit stage, at the licence stage and at the concession stage, to file with the relevant authority under the Ordinance an updated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA),” he said.

Mr. Nisbett noted that the Assessment would provide an opportunity for evaluation of the environmental impact of the project on the country at each stage and decisions could be made to ensure that the project was conducted in a manner that was harmonious, conducive and met the best environmental practices in the area of geothermal resource development.

Related posts:

  1. Nevis’ Geothermal Agreement Designed to Aid Economy
  2. Another Milestone For Nevis Geothermal Power
  3. Nevis Island’s Geothermal Energy Program Doing Well
  4. Geothermal Contract OK – Says Nevis Legal Advisor
  5. Geothermal Development To Add New Jobs In Nevis


May 1st, 2009

Nevis Residents Urged To Conserve Water

Nevis Water Conservation Workshop Participants

Nevis Water Conservation Workshop Participants

Charlestown, Nevis
May 01, 2009

Nevis residents were advised against complacency with their use of water. Minister of Public Utilities and Natural Resources on Nevis Hon. Carlisle Powell made the recommendation when he addressed government department representatives at a Nevis Integrated Water and Costal Management workshop at Mount Nevis Hotel on Wednesday.

The event which was hosted by the Nevis Water Department in conjunction with the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) brought Nevis in line with other Caribbean islands that had embarked on projects to manage their water.

“At the moment we are experiencing one of the worst droughts we have had in recent times but the government has been able to maintain a supply of water to our consumers”

“Even though we have managed to keep your water flowing, the complacency should never set”What we have experienced is that the more water we put into the system, the greater the usage of water and so we have to keep increasing the supply and asking people to keep conservation in mind,” Mr. Powell said.

He explained that the business of water management was not solely that of the Nevis Water Department but every other department in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) particularly in an island like Nevis where the water resource was limited with no lakes, rivers or major springs.

The workshop came at a time when Nevis was experiencing major expansions in its water systems. Mr. Powell disclosed that the NIA in conjunction with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) with the guidance of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Mr. Ernie Stapleton, the replacement of old reservoirs which would increase storage by an additional 1.5 million gallons of water.

The added water would allow for a three day reserve supply of water in addition to the daily1million imperial gallons that was recently added to the water system.

Mr. Powell also noted that two new concrete plants would be commissioned at Long Point shortly which would require large amounts of water, so to would an oxygen plant under construction in the same area.

He also pointed to an expansion in agriculture, a sector which required additional water in times of drought and at best of times; the Agriculture Department along with the Island’s farmers required plenty of water.

The Minister explained that the NIA had planned to position new reservoirs in areas that would ably supply home owners on the higher elevations which did not feed into the government water supply system.

Related posts:

  1. Nevis Struggles To Sustain Water Supply
  2. Nevis Water Up-Grade Program Is Paying Off
  3. St. Kitts – Nevis Expands Water Chlorination
  4. New Deep Well Water Source Found In Nevis
  5. Nevis Pleased With Results For Renewable Energy And Water


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