The $850 million Kato Secondary School in Region Eight (Potaro/Sipuruni) was officially commissioned on Friday capping tumultuous years of construction and remedial works.
Constructed by Kares Engineering at a cost of $728.1 million, the school was never occupied after it was found to be riddled with major defects after construction ended in 2015. An audit by Rodrigues Architects Limited subsequently found that the building was unsafe for children and that at least $144 million would be required to fix the defects. Kares was subsequently allowed to complete all corrective works on the school, at no cost to the government, under the supervision of Vikab Engineering, which was selected to oversee the works at a cost of $29.2 million.
In a press release on Friday, the Ministry of Education (MoE) said that an additional $55 million was expended for furnishings and $37 million for the installation of the photovoltaic system at the school.
