Island life: construction in a far flung outpost

Colin Summers, director of the Public Works department in the Falkland Islands Government (FIG), describes the challenges of construction in a remote location with limited resources and skills available.

Colin Summers

I was born and raised in the Falkland Islands before coming to the UK to study engineering at Exeter University. After graduating I stayed in the UK working first as a site engineer then site agent at Costain, before becoming a project manager at aggregate supplier Day Group. In 2013 I returned to the Islands to become deputy director of the Public Works department (promoted to director in January 2015), which handles nearly all the construction in the Falkland Islands.

Each year we have a defined budget and programme of varying magnitude and value – which is set by our politicians (Members of the Legislative Assembly or MLAs) and which will decide the focus of activity for the year. This almost always includes house building and maintenance as well as larger infrastructure projects depending on the need and budget available, as beyond the cost of defence, the Islands are entirely self-sustaining.

This year some of the bigger projects we have planned are the construction of a new public jetty, which will be the main reception point for visiting cruise vessel passengers; a new workshop and offices for the FIG Property and Municipal department; the construction of a small three-turbine wind farm for the Ministry of Defence base at Mount Pleasant; and the construction of a new alternative water supply which includes a 10km pipeline and dealing with stone runs, peat banks and other difficult terrain.

Port Stanley, where much of the public work is taking place

Key to the success of any construction project is planning, and this needs to be particularly rigorous when working in the Falklands. With only one weekly commercial flight here, twice weekly MoD flights and a limited number of visiting ships, it can take many weeks – or even months – for key personnel, supplies and equipment to arrive on site.

All building materials apart from sand and aggregates are imported into the Islands. Most of these come from the UK, although there are some links with Chile and Uruguay – most of the cement we use, for example, comes from Uruguay. However, the quality of the materials available in South America can sometimes be lacking, so the vast majority of what we use is imported from the UK.

Although it has improved greatly over the last few years there is still a limited amount of plant and specialist vehicles on the islands. The quickest you can expect to get equipment from the UK is eight weeks, although it is normal for items to take in excess of three months from ordering – it certainly doesn’t leave a lot of room for mistakes.

This was the case on a recent project, where the damage to the St Malo Bridge (an Acrow bridge) led to an in-situ repair. Not only was this an incredibly unique project – we have not discovered any examples of similar in-situ repair work done anywhere else in the region – but once we’d ordered the specialist jacking equipment it took over four weeks for it to arrive from South America. Sometimes you have to get pretty creative to patch things up before a proper fix can be arranged. It’s really no wonder that islanders are known to be incredibly resourceful.

The in-situ repair of the St Malo Bridge

Skills shortages can also present a challenge to working in the Islands. The majority of the workforce is local but with a permanent resident population of fewer than 3,000, this needs to be supplemented with personnel and specialists from overseas – predominantly from the UK, Chile and St Helena.

To overcome this challenge FIG has set up a training centre and local companies offer further educational, vocational and specialist training. Apprenticeships are also offered on the Falklands. At present the Department for Public Works employs apprentice carpenters, electricians and mechanics.

I love the challenge that working in the Islands brings – and most of the challenges can be overcome with good planning. There’s always something new on the horizon too, which has never been more the case with the growing economy, population and a burgeoning oil industry. Already we have plans in place next year to upgrade the existing power supply, build a new elderly care facility and, of course, continue with annual house building.

It’s great to be trusted with such responsibility and to feel like what I’m doing is helping increase the prosperity of the Islands, which have transformed dramatically since the 1982 conflict. The future of the Islands is exciting indeed; and with the prospect of oil there are bound to be further changes, demands and opportunities.