City Hall makeover to commence with $780M construction contract

Sep 27, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – A contract for the Georgetown City Hall restoration project totalling $780M has been signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Prema Roopnarine, and the contractors of Fides Guyana Inc.

The signing of the contract took place at City Hall on Friday in the presence of Senior Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, Minister within the Local Government Ministry, Anand Persaud, Mayor of Georgetown, Pandit Ubraj Narine, and other officials.

The signing of the contract took place at City Hall on Friday in the presence of Senior Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, Minister within the Local Government Ministry, Anand Persaud, Mayor of Georgetown, Pandit Ubraj Narine, and other officials.
Kaieteur News understands that the project is expected to start by the end of September after the relocation of City Hall staffers. The restoration of the deteriorating City Hall building has been more than five years in the making.
On the assumption of office in 2018, Mayor Narine made the restoration of City Hall a top priority and lobbied relentlessly for this project to become a reality.
Mayor Narine ensured that the Council agreed to the establishment of a committee with the Private Sector Commission, the National Trust of Guyana, NICIL, and other stakeholders. An account was also launched with the signatories being the Mayor and City Council, The National Trust, and the Private Sector Commission that will require all three signatures when completing transactions. “
Speaking at the signing ceremony on Friday, Narine declared, “Today, we witness this historical moment for the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown and Guyana at Large. Even though the pandemic slowed down the process, we are thankfully witnessing a breakthrough as the Central Government became a part of this project.”
He noted that the combined efforts of the Central and Local Government, the European Union Delegation and Fides Guyana Inc. will facilitate the City Hall Restoration project.
Mayor Narine complimented Central Government for its efforts to collaborate on this project and noted that this can inspire a continuous relationship to execute other projects such as completing the administration building, among others.
Mayor Narine also hopes that the City Hall building upon completion can be used as a tourist site and a Library for all to explore its history.
According to the Mayor, the new City Hall building will be constructed using local materials and local labour which in turn will create many job opportunities, allowing local businesses to profit, and overall help to boost the economy.