By The Star Staff
The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the Infrastructure Financing Authority (AFI) have signed an agreement to develop 36 reconstruction projects that address damage caused by Hurricane Maria to 107 buildings on the 11 university campuses.
The projects will be carried out through an investment of $139.6 million from Federal Emergency Management Agency and Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds.
“The reconstruction and recovery of the infrastructure of the UPR system are one of the priorities I highlighted when I assumed the university presidency,” UPR President Luis A. Ferrao Delgado said. “With the signing of this agreement, we were able to launch and accelerate this process for the good of the entire university community and the people of Puerto Rico, who treasure their university as national patrimony.”
AFI Executive Director Eduardo Rivera Cruz noted that “addressing the reconstruction needs of the infrastructure of the University of Puerto Rico system with agility is a task that we assume with great enthusiasm and with the utmost seriousness.”
“The magnitude of these projects supports the reconstruction work that we continue to work on for the benefit of all citizens,” he added.
The first phase of the reconstruction work covered by the agreement is to be under the auspices of the Disaster Recovery Office of the UPR and AFI. The 36 projects must be completed within three years after the signing of the agreement. Some of the projects include the Natural Sciences buildings at the UPR in Humacao, the Ángel Espada gymnasium at the Mayagüez University Campus (RUM) and the Adelina Coppin Alvarado Library at the UPR in Ponce.
Ferrao pointed out that the UPR is developing other essential projects for the university community. Among them, the ResiCampus and Torre Norte student residences and the new Communications and Information Department on the Río Piedras campus stood out. In addition, the construction of new facilities at the Primate Center in Cayo Santiago and the remodeling of the chemistry and biology buildings at the RUM Campus, among other projects, are also in progress.
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