Damage to fireproofing, leaking roofs and defective plastering were some of the remedial work due to be done by Pro-Active Management Systems on the new senior secondary school at Berkeley, according to site construction manager David Butterfield.

Mr. Butterfield, a Works Ministry employee who has been on the site on a full-time basis since the project started, took the media on a tour of the facility last week.

The media was shown two water-damaged areas and one room with defective plastering. Mr. Butterfield explained that leaky roofs had caused damage to some of the work done by subcontractors.

He said that delays were normal on such a large project and would not have been a major source of frustration and explained that the project was more complicated than CedarBridge Academy because it is a stacked building.

"On every major job there have been numerous changes. If you are accustomed to doing construction, that's the price you pay," he said when asked if the changes had been frustrating.

But he did accept that Berkeley was "one of the more difficult projects".

The tour revealed a building in advanced stages of construction and, according to Mr. Butterfield, the site could have been "more organised".

"That would have benefited the project. More organisation and more efficient use of equipment and their men."

Government's goal is to have the school ready for September 2005.

As site construction manager, Mr. Butterfield's job included monitoring progress, handling work order changes and inspecting work done.

He said remedial work on a building project should not be left for later because of the potential further damage.

"You should be repairing it as you go... if I have water coming from my roof and I install woodwork beneath that, what's the result ?"

The school is roughly the same size as CedarBridge Academy, the first senior secondary school, but slightly smaller in terms of capacity, according to Mr. Butterfield.

Asked for his overall sense of the project, he said: "It's a very large, complex project and it requires a lot of coordination and a lot of personnel to get done."

Some work had been done since the February claims settlement in which Pro-Active succeeded in receiving $13 million and an extra year to finish the project.

That included construction of retaining walls, some roofing, installation of windows, the start of (25 percent) a fire ring main, the roof to the central plant and structural steel for the gym.

Millwork had also been installed in various areas and much of the ceiling work had been completed Mr. Butterfield said.

Government terminated Pro-Active's contract saying the rate of work was too slow and that the contractor was not going to finish the building by the September 30 deadline.

Pro-Active is planning to seek damages for wrongful termination in arbitration hearings.

Government's last valuation found that 81 percent of the building ? based on the original $68 million contract ? had been completed.

Pro-Active's estimate is that it had completed 85 percent of the building.