'Building projects will boost flagging economy'

Getting the economy moving again may be as simple as getting a new ­major construction project off the ground.

The redevelopment of the hospital and several ­proposed hotels have the potential boost to Bermuda’s businesses.

The big question is when?

The hospital project could get off the ground soon but the hotel projects — such as Morgan’s Point and Park Hyatt — seem to be lagging.

Alex DeCouto, owner of Greymayne Contracting, predicts we may not see any positive effects from the hotels until late 2011.

He said: “There are ­construction projects out there with the hotels but we’re still on our way down.

“I don’t think we’ve hit bottom for a lot of people working in the construction industry just yet — it’s still to come.”

Rough

Mr. DeCouto said rock bottom is probably another three to six months away and the long climb back up will be another six to nine months after that.

He added: “That’s ­depending on how fast ­other big projects get off the ground.

“The end of this year will be very rough. There will be more people out of work.”

Mr. DeCouto said the new hospital project will help lift the flagging construction industry, plus there is the possibility of another big office project in Hamilton.

He added: “Jobs that will be affected will be anybody doing earth works or ­masonry, form work carpenters and steel erectors.

“They are the guys who will be most out of work.

 “There will be small house building and commercial interiors going on, so guys like drywallers and painters will be pretty busy still.”

Mr. DeCouto said the Morgan’s Point and St. George’s ­hotel projects have the potential to help kick-start the economy because they are such large under-­takings but he does not see them breaking ground within the next 12 months.

He called Morgan’s Point  “just massive”.

He added: “They’re calling for 1,000 residential units, a big hotel, a small hotel, marina and commercial units.

“You’re talking about redeveloping something the size of Devonshire. It’s almost like another parish.

“But those two projects are so far out in terms of planning.

“So from the moment they submit planning drawings, they’re about a year out. None of that has happened yet.

“The hospital is imminent. It’s feasible to break ground in the new year.

“It should provide some new work but it’s not a game changing, suddenly everybody in the ­industry is going to be busy-type project, but it’s something.”

Cordell Riley, managing director for Profiles in Bermuda, believes it will help the island’s economy when any of the major proposed projects get off the ground. He said: “The Morgan’s Point project will create 1,000 jobs.

“It will have an enormous impact.

“It’s a $2 billion project — there’s never been anything of that scale done before in Bermuda.

“Even if one of those projects comes off — St. George’s hotel, Morgan’s Point — it will be fairly substantial to the economy.”

Mr. Riley said Bermuda would benefit from direct spending — from wages and building materials — and indirect spending.

He added: “All the indirect or induced spending will trickle down to the public even more.

“We’ll feel it most that way because everyone will get a cut of the pie.”

He said the hospital is one major project that will help “locals be employed”.

He added: “They’ll have money in their pockets. They’ll buy more locally and dine out.”