BUDGET 2023: Over $263M more for City Hall’s restoration

In preserving Guyana’s rich history and maintaining the aesthetics of thecapital city –  Georgetown – works on restoring the historic City Hall started last year with financing from the government.

In keeping with its promise to make allocations until the building is restored to its former glory, this year an allocation of $263.2 million is budgeted for restoration of the building.

Last month, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall assured that the restoration works to the ‘iconic’ City Hall building are on track for its 2023 completion.

The $780 million contract was signed on September 24, 2021, with Fidis Guyana Incorporated.

Minister Dharamlall explained that as the work progresses, extensive damage to structural components of the building is being uncovered by the contractors, making the works ‘intricate’ and ‘tedious’.

“I just want to guard against us forcing them in terms of getting it done as quickly as we would like them to get it done but at the same time, this may compromise the quality of work.“

“I would have liked for more to be done but as they are restoring, they are finding a lot of components of the building that were not visible when we did the bills of quantities,” Minister Dharamlall noted.

The newly restored building will be a main attraction site as government works towards diversifying Guyana’s tourism.

“It is the intention that City Hall is going to be a production capital where a lot of tourists will possibly go and so, previously, it was used as office space and I think that moving forward, it will probably have to be used more as a town hall and where public activities can be done as well as a site for tourism,” the local government minister noted. Minister Dharamlall said once completed, the building will benefit all Guyanese.