Business

AECOM Received $17 Million On Thursday As Bryan Administration Works To Speedup Payment Process For Home Repair Program

AECOM, the prime contractor hired by the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA) to execute the Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) program, known locally as Emergency Home Repair VI (EHRVI) Program, on Thursday received a payment of $17 million from VIHFA, a source with firsthand knowledge of the payment has confirmed to The Consortium. The source said Governor Albert Bryan and his team were working overtime to see that monies owed to contractors and subcontractors working in the program get paid. The $17 million was received in two payments, this person said, $10 millions and $7 million. The funds will be used by AECOM to pay its contractors, who in turn are supposed to pay their subcontractors. A plethora of off-island men working on various FEMA-related disaster recovery programs in the territory have been complaining of egregious treatment from their contractors, who they accuse of leaving them stranded without pay in the territory. On Friday, Uniify, a Louisi...