Dockyard’s controversial Heritage Wharf project is expected to go more than $6 million over its original budget.

Public Works Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin last Friday told Parliament that the project’s target price increased from an original $22.4 million to an estimated $28.8 million, from the end of November, 2011 to the start of May, 2013.

The current expenditure to date on the project is $27,369,314, which includes the Request For Proposals cost.

However, despite that the project fell mainly under the One Bermuda Alliance’s administration, the Minister refused to accept Opposition suggestions that the overruns lay squarely with the current Government.

“It was a 17-month procedure — it was not entirely managed by the OBA,” Ms Gordon-Pamplin said.

In response to parliamentary questions, she said the price included the RFP process for design services, issued in mid-June, 2012. It was agreed on the basis of “design drawings still under development due to the time constrains imposed”, she added.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin also defended the use of overseas equipment in the project to repair and refurbish the Dockyard cruise berth.

Asked why the Ministry had rented equipment from overseas at a cost of about $2.5 million, when Opposition MP Derrick Burgess contended that all the necessary equipment was available locally, the Minister said such equipment had not been available in Bermuda — nor had “certified personnel in the numbers required to safely operate this equipment”.

“While there were cranes, piling hammers and barges available in Bermuda at the time, none were of the size and magnitude required”.

The Minister pointed out that $1,738,200 had been spent on overseas equipment, not the $2.5m figure suggested by Mr Burgess.