Public Works Minister Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch disclosed today that “works will commence tomorrow, Saturday, November 17th” on the next phase of Government’s Rehabilitation Plan for King’s Wharf.
In a Ministerial Statement to update MPs on the Government’s Rehabilitation Plan for King’s Wharf in Dockyard, Colonel Burch also told MPs that final costs for this phase will be $15 Million cheaper than anticipated in the original budget.
He also disclosed that Bermudian Civil Engineer, Ms Carmen Trott “has been seconded to the Ministry” to head up the project as Project Manager.
“The original budget for these works was $20 Million but with savings on the piles and the use of Precast slabs, our actual target price is in the region of $15 Million including contingencies.,” said Colonel Burch.
“I am particularly pleased to announce that the project manager and director for this project is young Bermudian Civil Engineer, Ms Carmen Trott.
“She was a trainee engineer with the Ministry a decade ago and subsequently left for the private sector. Since January of this year Carmen has been seconded to the Ministry and will oversee the project to conclusion.
“Works will commence tomorrow, Saturday November 17 and will rapidly gain speed as we move quickly to meet this critical time line.”
From a historical perspective, he noted that the Royal Naval Dockyard has “two deep-water cruise berths: King’s Wharf and Heritage Wharf.
King’s Wharf the older of the two is a 300 foot, by 80 foot suspended deck structure supporting the cruise ship terminal buildings. The main structure comprises a structural steel frame encased in reinforced concrete, with reinforced concrete slabs – constructed in 1987 at a cost of 9 Million dollars,” he said.
“In 2014 a comprehensive inspection was conducted by the UK firm Mott Macdonaldregarding the state of Kings Wharf. Deck problems and other deficiencies wereclearly identified. At that time the cost of fixing the wharf and terminal building was estimated at more than 20M. In spite of the production of a 77 page report and recommendations – nothing was done.”
Three years later he said the Ministry “commissioned an underwater inspection of 27 structures across the Island as part of a wider plan to investigate the state of our infrastructure,” he said.


- Strict quality control will be employed on and off site by an Independent lab
- Top of the line 6,000 psi concrete will be used
- Corrosion inhibitor will be added to the concrete to make sure we will get the most durable concrete for our harsh environment
- Cathodic protection will be added in critical locations to make sure we get a lifespan of at least 75 years for this new infrastructure
- The new wharf, will be built with proper loading to accommodate the next generation of cruise ships.
