buy aggregate.

Island Construction Services (ICS) Ltd. president and CEO, Mr. Zane DeSilva, not only said that his firm can meet local demand, but he said that they can do so "at costs well below any foreign import''.

Mr. DeSilva announced that ICS Bailey's Bay subsidiary, Island Quarry Ltd., has dropped the prices for top grade screenings and 5/8 rock to $18.90 net per ton, or a little more than $100 a load.

Mr. DeSilva said: "We want all the contractors to know who and where we are.

We want them to come down to our facility and see for themselves that local quarrying is alive and well. We are confident that when they do they will agree with our position on this issue.'' Mr. DeSilva scoffed at the Government assertion that the Government quarry resources would be exhausted in five years.

He said: "Our quarry in Bailey's Bay is 26 acres in size. Rest assured, we will have plenty of local aggregate for another 15-20 years.

"We've dropped the price from $28 a ton to $21 a ton, or $18.90 net, because I'm offering a 10 percent discount for cash, or if they pay their accounts quickly.

"At $18.90 a ton, you're looking at almost 50 percent cheaper than anywhere else in the Island, whether imported or local.'' Mr. DeSilva was responding to a recent Royal Gazette article that quoted Government's chief highway engineer, Mr. David Woodward, as saying that the Works & Engineering quarry (also at Bailey's Bay) has only about five more years of useful life.

"I see no reason for them to import,'' said Mr. DeSilva, "because we have material in our quarry, which is of the same rock formation as their's is, the Walsingham formation, the hardest rock found in Bermuda.'' Mr. Woodward also said that as the stone gets worked out, the stone is softer because it has more clay in it.

Mr. DeSilva responded: "No. Untrue. In fact, you will find that whenever you go through a layer of clay, immediately below that you will find the hardest rock that is available in Bermuda.

"Our company has 65 employees. We have this quarry and the material has proved itself over the years and meets the required standard. With East End (Asphalt Co. Ltd.) already importing aggregate, I'd hate to think that Government will start importing it to, doing Bermudians out of work.

"We have the quality and the resources here to supply the Island.

"East End doesn't have to import it. They could buy it from us, certainly at a price cheaper than any price they could import it for from overseas. I would take on anyone in that regard. If you give me a price that you are importing it for, I'll beat that price.

"That's why we have this special going on now. And it could save the tax payer money.

But Mr. Woodward clarified yesterday that the reason there was a move away from the use of Bermuda stone in making road products was, not because of supply, but because it was inferior when compared to other materials that can be imported.

He said that the use of the alternative imported materials will make a product that may last twice as long on Bermuda's roads, giving the tax payer more value for money. Resurfacing of 10 miles of the Island's major highways is completed every year. But the new product is said to last much longer.

ICS is still creating an opportunity for contractors to obtain local materials at a reduced price.

ROCK BOTTOM PRICING -- President and CEO of Island Construction Services Ltd., Mr. Zane DeSilva (left) and vice president, Mr. Allan DeSilva, have reduced the price of aggregate that subsidiary firm, Island Quarry Ltd., is excavating from the Bailey's Bay quarry.