Completing the new secondary school can now proceed ?expeditiously? Premier Alex Scott said yesterday.

And contracts in future would be handled differently from the failed Pro-Active contract but still deliver economic empowerment.

But the Premier refused to say when Government expected the $81 million project to be completed.

Wednesday?s meeting with the Bermuda Industrial Union, which resulted in a joint Press statement, had removed the ?main outstanding issues that were a hurdle to overcome in order to move ahead, I think, expeditiously,? the Premier said.

?I have an indication of when we might finish, but based on past experiences I will not now say when I think that building will be finished. I certainly will be there the day we cut the ribbon. I think folks will be satisfied when the (Works) Minister does give a completion date.?

Much progress was made during marathon meetings held this week between Government and the union, which owns Union Asset Holdings, the company which provided the completion bond for the project. Facilitated by former companies registrar Malcolm Butterfield, the parties agreed that Government would provide UAH with estimates and progress reports for the completion of the project as long as it maintained that the bond was still in force.

Significantly, Government also agreed to hand over certified payments due to Pro-Active when the contract was terminated, return construction equipment left on the site and enter into a rental agreement for its use. That means that Pro-Active workers who lost their jobs can now receive their severance payments ? estimated at around $300,000 ? and the union will begin to receive some income from the equipment and recover some of the roughly $4 million it has loaned to Pro-Active.

The union is still concerned that the $6.8 million bond is still in place considering that the Pro-Active contract was terminated before the agreed completion deadline and is reserving its right to seek a court decision on the status of the bond.

A general council meeting was held yesterday to inform the BIU membership of the agreement.

Government had earlier agreed to let Pro-Active conduct its own assessment of the site. That work is ongoing, but the Government?s assessors have completed their report.

Yesterday, Mr. Scott said he had not seen the assessment. Mr. Scott repeated earlier statements that Government regretted terminating contractor Pro-Active Management Systems? contract to build the school.

And the Premier stressed that the Works and Engineering Ministry will be in charge of the project from now on, but with management assistance from Somers Construction.

?To say anyone other than Works and Engineering is ?the man?, would be misleading. Works and Engineering now are in charge.?

Somers Construction, would ?probably assist with some of the management responsibilities, putting some of the subcontractors together.?

He said that the experience had taught Government that ?to carry out policies is not that easy.

?Our policy is to empower and enable anybody who fairly qualifies for a contract. We would do it again but now based on knowing that it?s important that we make sure there is a credit facility for any contractor that undertakes a particular job. We?ve talked to banks and that has been accomplished,? the Premier said.

?We see the need for there to be a management group, or management groups, available to carry out these contracts. It may have been an alternative way forward to have a management contract put out rather than a general contractor.?

He agreed that the new model was similar to that pioneered under the United Bermuda Party Government to build the first senior secondary school, but denied that the UBP had a better way. ?It was a restricted group, under the UBP that got the jobs. Under us, it?s opened up. And that?s so important ? that?s what the Social Agenda is all about.?