Grand Bahama is on the road to recovery in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, according to the minister responsible for the island.

Dr. Michael Darville told the Bahama Journal that things are “progressing.”

Grand Bahama was one of the islands hardest hit by the category two storm when it passed through The Bahamas three weeks ago.

“The fishing hole road was one of our main challenges,” Dr. Darville said.

“The engineering and correction of that is now on the books. The bidding process for the repair of the road is complete and we will be making an announcement very shortly. There was damage to peripheral ends of the road as well as the tarmac itself.”

When Prime Minister Perry Christie visited the island back on October 28, Queen’s Cove was one of several settlements he visited.

Residents there suffered a lot of infrastructural damage to their homes and businesses.

“As far as Queen’s Cove goes, the prime minister indicated that the Ministry of Finance is looking at duty free concessions on building materials, vehicles and appliances,” Dr. Darville said.

The government has since signed an exigency order, giving the group three months to apply for several items.

The exigency order took effect November 15. It ends on February 15.

Under the order, residents in Abaco, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma and the Cays, Grand Bahama and Long Island can apply for building materials, electrical fixtures and materials, plumbing fixtures and materials, household furniture, fixture, furnishings and appliances, freezers and heaters, materials for clean-up or repairs to property including fences, fishing boats, gear, parts and apparatus, farming equipment and utensils and motor vehicles.

“The Ministry of Social Services was also on the ground and they addressed the immediate needs of the residents,” Dr. Darville continued.

“The issue of the low lying areas is a concern of the government and we have put together a steering committee in conjunction with the Grand Bahama Port Authority on what we should do. As you should know every time we have this type of devastation the same areas are affected so we need to come up with a solid plan on the way forward. The community has been very supportive and we are putting the pieces back together so if you come to Grand Bahama now it’s like the hurricane never came.”

Hurricane Sandy terrorised The Bahamas on October 26, leaving in its wake flooding, beach erosion, damaged homes and destroyed crops.

It has also been blamed for the death of dozens of people across The Caribbean.

Two of those deaths were in The Bahamas.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season ends November 30.