The contractor who built the male dormitory at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) that was severely damaged by fire last month said yesterday he was under the impression the building was insured at the time of the blaze.

"They called me yesterday (Wednesday) on the same thing, and as far as I'm concerned the building was insured," said Audley Hanna, president of Paradigm Construction.

"Now I don't know if the insurance lapsed because we did run over because of circumstances beyond our control." Hanna said he was waiting on several items to arrive on Andros and as a result work lagged for several weeks.

He said had those items arrived sooner, the building would have been completed.

On Wednesday, Minister of Works Philip Brave Davis revealed in the House of Assembly that the contractor allowed the insurance to lapse.

Hanna said when he heard Davis' comments he began inquiring on whether the building's insurance was up to date.

He admitted that if the dorm is not insured he would have to "find the money to build it back".

When asked if he had enough money to do so, he said, "I don't know, but I have excess."

It remained unclear how much it would cost to repair the building.

Hanna said the building is insured with Southern Alliance.

The Guardian searched the Insurance Commission of The Bahamas' website but did not find the name of the company listed.

A senior insurance broker in the country also told The Guardian that she had never heard of the company.

On February 16, Dave Dion Moxey, 50, was charged with setting fire to the dormitory.

He was not required to enter a plea, but claimed that he was not in North Andros at the time the building was set ablaze.

Former Minister of Works Neko Grant said yesterday the entire ordeal disturbs him.

"It is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that the building is protected until he or she turns it over officially to the government of The Bahamas," he said.

"The contractor did not turn the building over to the Bahamas government and as such he was supposed to protect it. "The Bahamian people should not be made to pay for it."

Grant said Davis' suggestion that the contractor allowed the insurance to lapse is "nonsense".

He said the project manager should have been on top of the issue.

Grant said the opposition believes the building was never insured.

According to Davis, at the time the contract was signed, "The contractor had everything that was required to contract work with my ministry, including contractor's all-risk insurance.

"However, because of the delay and the fact that the contractor failed to pay the annual premium, the insurance coverage expired.

"Full completion of phase one is now projected for June 2015."

Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis has asked the government to table the contract for the male dorm and the insurance documents.

Prime Minister Perry Christie called the BAMSI insurance matter "a teachable experience".

The government said it has spent over $23 million on BAMSI already.

Fourteen contractors have been hired to work on various aspects of the project.

Since taking office, the government has touted BAMSI as one of its most important initiatives. While it faced several delays and a protracted construction period, the first group of students started at the institute last year.

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