 The Ministry of Education, Innovation, and Gender Relations and Sustainable Development will soon deliver a state-of-the-art school to the community of Laguerre-Barbonneau. A new Laguerre Primary School was first airmarked for construction in 2010, but it was delayed as a result of the passage of Hurricane Thomas. Jesse Leos has the details. The signing ceremony for the building of the Laguerre Combined Primary School signaled the commencement of the long-anticipated phase of the project. At a small ceremony at the Ministry of Education's conference room, stakeholders witnessed the contract signing between the Government of St. Lucia and construction and industrial equipment limited. The school will be built on a lot of 16,412 square feet, of which 15,250 square feet will be occupied by the structure at a cost of EC $7,552,297.97. The nearby Laguerre community playing field will accommodate some of the school's sporting activity. Mary Grace O'Geese is the project coordinator of the Education Quality Improvement Project Equip. The facility, as per the designs of the firm, Danian CE Limited, will comprise three stories, a basement, a ground floor and a first floor. The top floor will house four classrooms, one library, which will double up as an IT laboratory, and one music room. The ground floor will house four classrooms, a sick bay, staff, stroke, common room, and principal's office. The basement level, which was redesigned by Danian CE Limited from previous designs, will house an open breezeway, male and female washroom facilities, and janitorial storage area. CEO of Construction and Industrial Equipment Limited, Reino Gajada, pledged his company's commitment to delivering this project in a timely manner. However, I must also say that because the school is going up in the Laguerre area, I will make every opportunity available for the people of the Laguerre area to be part of the building of the school, that way they will be, that way they will know what's going on, how it's going on and feel that they were part of it even 20 years later, especially the young people who may be able to work on the project. Parliamentary representative for Babano Honourable Ezekiel Joseph expressed elation at the commencement of the building phase despite many hurdles. He says he is pleased that community inclusion is being made a priority as part of this project. I want to say that I'm happy that we have a local contractor because one of the concerns I expressed when I was told about the bidding process, and I heard a number of international and regional contractors who shortlisted meeting CDB's requirements, I expressed one concern. What is it in it for my Laguerre people? Mr. Reino, I'm happy. The only reasons I'm here today, you have spoken to it. I'm happy to hear that serious consideration will be given to people in Laguerre who have the skill and expertise and commitment to participate in the construction phase. And I'm open, ready to work along with your team in ensuring that this happens. Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development Honourable Dr. Gail Rigoburt thanked stakeholders for their patience during the lengthy process of meeting the requirements prior to the construction phase. She underscored the various considerations to be implemented during the building of the school. I want to underscore the fact that this is a smart school for smart children. And what do we mean by a smart school? I can see my colleagues starting to smile behind their masks already. What do we mean by a smart school? And some of this was shared with you a moment ago. That it is climate smart, climate resilient. That it is energy smart. By that we mean that it has the capacity to leverage renewable energy so as to allow for us to realize energy efficiency gains. I know too that it is smart to the extent that we recognize the different capabilities and physical capacity of our students with respect to accessibility and moderability. A prerequisite of co-financier Caribbean Development Bank CDB for the construction of the Laguerre Primary School included an environmental and social management plan. For the Government Information Service, I am Jesse Lyons reporting.