MPs have questioned why an additional half a million dollars has been added to the cost of road improvements at Dockyard.

Government's explanation of the $566,600 Supplementary Estimate was "unforeseen works" on the Pender Road Improvements project.

A statement in the House of Assembly said: "The Total Authorised Figure (TAF) for this project is $4.5 million in 2009-10. This over-expenditure is directly related to unforeseen works that resulted in a change in the scope of works required.

"These works included: road widening south of new Cockburn's Cut Bridge and Commissioner's House; road realignment at Bonefish Restaurant; removal of the Westgate south wall and trenching for replacement water mains.

"In addition, further costs incurred due to compression of construction schedule."

Minister of Works and Engineering, Derrick Burgess, said the works were needed at Ireland Island "in preparation for the opening of the second cruise ship terminal".

He said: "The second cruise pier at Dockyard was of urgent national importance.

"It was vital the road widening and bridge extension project was completed on time. It was completed just on time for the formal opening of the terminal by the Premier on Thursday, May 7 (2009)."

MPs approved the additional $566,600, from Government's Capital Account, but questioned why the project was undertaken by the Ministry of Works and Engineering rather than the Ministry responsible for the new cruise ship pier budget, Tourism and Transport.

Shadow Minister of Works and Engineering, Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, said: "$566,600 extra resulting from the new dock begs the question as to whether there was not an overall plan for the entire area, so that this $566,600 could have been planned for.

"I think this is one of the challenges we have when we have different ministries doing similar projects.

"If Works and Engineering are responsible for doing the entrance and pieces of the work, yet not responsible for the project itself, it makes no sense because there could have been economies projected by having the project under one head."

She added: "You're not going to put a $60 million pier there and say we've got no (road) access to it.

"To have this type of cost overrun, either the ministry responsible for building the dock should have had this under their project, or Works and Engineering should have been responsible for the whole thing.

"To my mind it should have been included as part of the overall project. This gives me major cause for concern."

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons added: "The way the Minister described this, it seems like it was a last-minute thing but this project goes back a number of years. So is it last-minute overtime or the overall project work exceeded the TAF?"

Mr. Burgess said: "The Pender Road Improvements have been on the books for a number of years but the new cruise ship terminal, we had to accelerate the need for the project to be finished and completed at a certain time, and it did incur some overtime.

"Also the bus depot at Dockyard was not included in the overall plans and the wall on the field or the baskets. We didn't anticipate so much work there."

Shadow Minister for Youth and National Training, Charlie Swan, said: "The Minister said the widening of the road has been in the works for a number of years. This is a Supplementary Estimate. Is there a date on which numbers are known?"

Mr. Burgess said: "The TAF of $450,000 has been in place for a number of years, about three years."

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin then said: "Could this not have been incorporated as part and parcel of that entire project? It certainly would have been if the Ministry had had oversight.

"The initial widening of the road, I can understand, but there were some additional things that were unforeseen. So we've got this massive fantastic new $60 million project. Would it not be considered as part and parcel of that project?"

Mr. Burgess said: "They were two separate projects."

But Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said: "We're looking at road widening at the Commissioner's House, that's not Pender Road bridge.

"This has got to be part and parcel of the dock. We're not talking about the neck of getting in and out of Dockyard.

"The Minister's explanation makes no sense.

"And if it is correct then we need to see a segregation of what constitutes Pender Road and what constitutes Commissioner's House."

Dr. Gibbons asked: "Was there an outside contractor, and if so, who?"

Mr. Burgess said: "The Commissioner's House and Bonefish was all part of the Pender Road project. The stretch is all in Dockyard.

"The contract was done by a combination of Works and Engineering and 50 other local companies."

The cost of the second cruise ship pier reached $56 million last year. The 2009-10 Budget set a TAF of $60 million a 70 percent increase on the original $35 million allocation.