Basseterre, St. Kitts—On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Minister of Public Infrastructure, Energy, Utilities, and Domestic Transport, Hon. Konris Maynard, delivered remarks to quarry staff attending a critical training session in drilling and blasting techniques from July 30 to August 2, 2024.
In his remarks, Minister Maynard underscored the immense value of quarry personnel’s work to the construction sector and expressed deep appreciation for their efforts.
“The government will be leaning heavily on the quarry division to meet the needs of upcoming works such as home construction, road construction, and repair and revetment works along our coastline,” the Minister said.
The Minister provided an overview of new and existing projects for which aggregates from the quarry would be helpful, including:
- Constructing 2400 climate-smart homes over the next four years
- Constructing concrete roads at a budget of over $30 million in multiple locations around the island
- Paving asphalt roads
- Building the new hospital.
The workshop aims to improve workers’ efficiency and capitalize on the economic benefits of training. Such economic benefits might be derived not only domestically but also internationally.
“I would hope that this training would lead to not only the possibility that we will supply all that we need for our upcoming infrastructure products, but also we have to look at the possibility of exporting our quarry products. We are therefore depending heavily on improved yields and quality after the completion of this training to meet projected demands for materials,” Minister Maynard said.
Throughout the week, participants will cover topics including Drilling, Explosive Blasting Operations, Blasting Calculations, and others. The workshop, facilitated by Dr. Larry Neufville, a professor at the University of Technology in Jamaica, is part of a proactive strategy by the Quarry Division of the Public Works Department to modernize quarry operations.
