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Ta’u Dispensary set to be dedicated next month
Less than a year after a second contract had to be issued for the construction of the Ta’u Dispensary, the work is finally completed and the facility will be dedicated and officially opened for business on July 15. This is according to Public Works director Taeaotui Punaofo Tilei whose office is overseeing the project management.
The construction work was carried out by E&W Construction after the initial contractor (Union Construction) who won the bid for the project was terminated by Taeaotui for reasons that included lengthy delays and no progress.
The Ta’u Dispensary project broke ground in December 2006 and was expected to be completed last July but nothing went through as planned, as the initial contractors did nothing more than mobilize their crew, demolish the old structure, and bring in only a few supplies.
At the time, requests were made to have the Maintenance and Operations crew from Public Works carry out the job in order to save money but this could not happen as DOI federal funding does not allow workers from Public Works to carry out the job.
The project came with a price tag of more than $490,000 which was made available through federal funding from the Department of Interior’s Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds earmarked for health.
The new and improved dispensary, which is built in the exact same spot as the old one, features a 3,200 square-foot single-story building complete with a morgue, a telemedia station, an office for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel, and living quarters for doctors and nurses.
The new structure is more modern, with concrete columns and beams, and louvered glass and solid windows.
Last year, Manu’s District Governor PC Tufele Li’amatua told the Tapuitea that the completion of the new dispensary will save the people of Manu’a a lot of money in costs of having to travel to the LBJ Medical Center for check-ups and medical assistance.
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