Cost of Kugaaruk school under wraps
Construction to be complete by August 2019
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Monday, July 10, 2017
KUGAARUK
While the Government of Nunavut has selected a company to design and build Kugaaruk's new school, the cost will not be disclosed yet.
The figure will be made public when the contracting activity report and procurement activity report are published, according to Shaun Sabourin, project officer with the Department of Community and Government Services. Those reports are filed annually by the GN.
While design work is expected to continue over the next six months, some site and foundation work will get underway this summer, Sabourin said.
Iqaluit-based Kudlik Construction, the successful bidder on the project, was chosen over Penn-Co Nunavut, Almiq Contracting and FCNQ Construction.
The new school will be approximately 49,470 square feet, substantially larger than the former Kugaardjuk Ilihakvik, which measured 36,425 square feet. As well, the new school will handle up to 450 students. There were 295 students enrolled in Kugaaruk in 2016-2017.
With the new school not scheduled to be complete until late August 2019, modular classrooms will be shipped to Kugaaruk via sea-lift and should be in use by the end of October, Sabourin noted. Foundation materials and some structural materials for the new school will also be on board the cargo ship, with the remainder of construction materials slated to be transported during the 2018 shipping season.
Kugaardjuk Ilihakvik, which burned to the ground on Feb. 28 in what is believed to be an act of arson, was built in 1986 and was renovated on several occasions. The most recent major addition was carried out in 2003, when a new junior and senior high school wing was constructed and the library was expanded, according to Sabourin. A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to update the status of the young offender charged with arson. The child was 13 at the time charges were filed.
