A new asphalt plant is expected to be ready for operation in March 2025, according to a request for proposal.

The RFP, published recently on the Government Procurement website, sought a company to assemble the facility as well as an aggregate screening plant at the Government Quarry in Hamilton Parish.

It said: “The Government would like to enter into an agreement with a contractor to provide skilled labour, construction equipment and cranes to assemble the modular plants.

“The contractor will be required to assemble the plants on site with technical support from the supplier and their technicians.

“The contractor will be expected to assist during all testing and commissioning of the plant by providing skilled labour and equipment.”

Documents included on the procurement website said that the asphalt plant and aggregate screening plant will be brought to the island in multiple shipments from Tennessee.

The final components of the aggregate screening plant were expected to arrive to the island in October, with the final pieces of the asphalt plant to arrive next January.

Documents in the RFP package said that the asphalt plant equipment would be assembled at a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before being prepared and shipped to Bermuda.

They added: “The pre-assembly will be for fit and function only; no asphalt will be produced.

“The proponent shall provide senior site personnel to attend and witness the pre-assembly so they are very familiar with the assembly, with a view to use this experience in Bermuda.”

A timeline included in the RFP estimated that the aggregate screening plant would be ready before the end of October, while the handover date for the completed asphalt plant would be in the middle of March 2025.

The deadline for submissions under the RFP is 3pm on June 28.

In March, Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, said that the new plant — costing almost $6.2 million from US-based firm Astec Industries Inc — would not be operational for at least another nine months.

However, last week he said the project would take longer than originally anticipated and a public statement was expected to be made in the next few weeks.

At the moment, Colonel Burch added, the pothole issue on the island had “died down”.

The island’s 100 miles of roads fell into disrepair in recent years, in part because of a lack of funding for maintenance work.

Last year, the Government set up a potholes hotline to address the problem, which was exacerbated by record-level rainfalls.

In the Budget this year, the Government set aside $5 million for road repairs and resurfacing — double the amount allocated in recent years.