Port Director Taimalelagi Claire Tuia Poumele says repairs on the service wharf at the main dock have been delayed for over seven years and a Request for Proposals (RFP) for this major infrastructure project is now in process. “This project has been in the plans for the past seven years,” she said.

“It was projected to cost approximately $5 mil several years ago. When we finally accumulated the estimated funds through CIP funds, we put it out for bid last year.” The Director said the project now has to be re-bid because the construction companies submitting proposals all over-bid. “All of the bids exceeded the engineer's estimated cost,” she said.

She told Samoa News that the RFP is for construction of a new service wharf at the main dock where the tugboats and MV Sili are docked.

“Due to the erosion and the wharf being built in the 1950s some parts of the wharf are collapsing. There are hug holes, which were patched with cement over the years, but it did not last.” She also noted that it is a costly project as tests indicate that in some areas the piles will need to be drilled more than 100 feet deep.

She said from the “Port’s standpoint we recognize the importance of this project and we would like to see that it is completed by next year.”