Government has awarded nearly $1.3 million in contracts as part of asbestos removal efforts at Morgan’s Point.

According to the official notices appearing in yesterday’s edition of The Royal Gazette, Government recently gave seven contracts for the second phase of asbestos abatement at the site. The total value of the contracts is just over $1.29 million.

B & B Fibre Tech and Island Construction Services were each awarded two of the contracts, with B & B Fibre Tech’s contracts valued at $350,000 and $178,000 and Island Construction Services’ worth $103,677 and $185,900.

Meanwhile, MNA Contracting, Chilla Inc and AC Management were each awarded single contracts valued at $91,500, $235,712 and $153,600 respectively.

The Ministry of Finance also awarded a $103,486 contract to E & C Well Drilling Co Ltd for well drilling services on the Southampton property.

Morgan’s Point had been occupied by the US Navy and was left heavily polluted with asbestos, metals, petroleum products and other chemicals when they departed the Island in 1995.

Public Works Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said last month that Government had spent $5.5 million to date to clean up Morgan’s Point, and that work is expected to be completed by the end of March 2016. The total authorised figure for remediation is $38 million.

The site is earmarked for tourism development, starting with an 84-room boutique hotel in the George’s Bay area. After that, developers are committed to erecting a 416-room luxury hotel out on the peninsula.

Clean-up of the site began in 2012 and a total of 30 contractors are at work on the site. Work to date has included asbestos abatement, underground tank and fuel pipeline closure, fuel plume remediation, Bassett’s Cave remediation, landfill capping and shoreline stabilisation.

More than 25 underground fuel tanks have been removed from the site as well as soil contaminated with fuel.