Hundreds of construction workers will go back to work next week after the Government gave the industry the green light to resume — but it will not be business as usual, industry experts said.

Two major building projects, the new St Regis Hotel in St George’s and the new passenger terminal at LF Wade International Airport, will restart on Monday.

Phase one of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, which takes effect tomorrow at 6am, will allow construction activities.

However, social-distancing measures and personal protective equipment will be expected on building sites, giving contractors an extra management challenge.

Laura Purroy, general manager of Hotelco Bermuda Holding Ltd, developer of the new hotel in St George’s, said the site’s 140 workers — half of them local and half work-permit holders — were keen to make up for lost time.

“Before the lockdown, we were on time and on budget,” Ms Purroy said. “We are very confident that we will be again on time and on budget, at the end of the year.”

Over the weekend, the team will prepare for working within the required safety guidelines from Monday. Hotelco will ensure its staff have masks, gloves and goggles, as well as protective white overalls that they were already using just before lockdown.

The new St Regis hotel is scheduled to open in April 2021 and that has not changed, Ms Purroy said.

About 30 per cent of the work remains, she estimated.

“Our first goal is to recoup the whole month of time lost,” Ms Purroy said. “We were navigating full sail before the shutdown.

“With enthusiasm and hard work we are confident that we can regain the speed.”

Lockdown entailed extra costs for the developer. “Hotelco has continued paying full salary to its personnel during April and honouring its obligations with subcontractors,” Ms Purroy said. “This extra cost now demands extra productivity from all of us.”

Many of Hotelco’s workers had spent the shelter-in-place period away from their families and were eager to get back to work, she said.

Ms Purroy added: “The sooner we open the St Regis Hotel, the sooner new jobs for Bermudians will be created for the operation of the hotel.

“The golf course will also be ready for opening together with the hotel, whereas the casino is contingent on certain decisions that are in the hands of Government.”

Mikaela Pearman, a spokeswoman for Aecon, general contractor for the airport project, confirmed that work would restart on Monday after weekend preparations on site.

“Prior to the pandemic, we were maintaining our schedule and the project is 95 per cent complete,” she said. “Obviously, our completion schedule for midsummer is no longer realistic given the continuing global and local impact of the pandemic.

Ms Pearman added: “It’s a bit too early to determine exactly how much of a delay this will have, but certainly we’re monitoring the impacts very closely.

“In the meantime, we have expanded on an already stringent set of social-distancing and hygienic measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those that will be working at the site as construction resumes.”

Alex DeCouto, president of Greymane Contracting Ltd, said the last two weeks had been “frantic” as his firm formalised protocols for working under new restrictions and tried to procure necessary personal protective equipment.

A US embargo on the export of PPE has meant Greymane has had to look beyond its regular supply chain to source the necessary supplies.

Greymane has boiled down its protocols into a one-page document as a handy guide for site workers.

“Make no mistake, it will not be business as usual on our sites,” Mr DeCouto said. “I think clients will have a much higher expectation of contractors moving forward with regards to social-distancing and infection control, rightfully so.

“As the Premier has stated, our actions during this next phase of reopening will dictate whether or not the virus continues to spread, necessitating future lockdowns.

“As one of the first industries to be granted the benefit of getting back to work, we have a privilege and a duty to get it right. I hope my industry colleagues take this responsibility seriously.”

Will Irvine, executive director of the Construction Association of Bermuda, said being allowed back to work was welcome, however there were issues to be ironed out.

“Building supplies companies are classed as retail,” Mr Irvine said. “If you can’t go into the building and look for the item you need, and instead you have to order online in advance to pick up kerbside, that’s going to be a whole challenge ahead. It means we have a disjointed supply chain.”

Mr Irvine said he had flagged up the problem to the Emergency Measures Organisation.

Contractors may also have problems sourcing in-demand PPE, he said. And there was also a question mark over who should bear the cost of the PPE in a contracted job.

The CAOB has drawn up a set of protocols for its members to comply with social-distancing and hygiene expectations. Yesterday, it shared the document with the Department of Health.