Parika Market to be rebuilt within four months; contractor to stand additional cost

The Parika Market Complex, which was gutted by fire in February, will be rebuilt within the next four months by construction firm, Panko Steel Fabrication and Construction, at no additional cost to the Government.

This was confirmed by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, who told the News Room on Tuesday that there has been no contract re-arrangement with the company that was initially awarded the contract to construct the second phase of the market.

“They have a contract so we don’t have any contract re-arrangement,” Dharamlall said.

Dharamlall said the market will be rebuilt with funds allocated for the rehabilitation project.

The company will therefore have to offset any additional expense, he said.

“The earlier contract would have been five months, but now they have to clear the land and so I think we would need three to four months,” he told the News Room.

Works have already begun.

In the meantime, measures are being put in place to temporarily relocate the vendors sometime this week.

In an invited comment, Regional Chairman of Region Three, Inshan Ayube told the News Room that the Ministry of Public Works has rehabilitated a street adjacent to the market for the vendors to ply their trade.

“This week we will be placing some vendors there,” Ayube said.

The fire occurred around 15:14hrs on Friday, February 10, displacing scores of vendors.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) had said due to high winds and the clustering of the area, the entire building and its contents were destroyed by the time the fire was brought under control.

A GFS investigation later revealed that the fire was caused by residue from a welding torch that fell into a storage bond and ignited nearby combustible materials.

At the time, Panko Steel Fabrication and Construction was conducting rehabilitation works at the market.

Last month, Demerara Bank announced that it is granting special loans to those vendors whose businesses were gutted by the fire.

In a press release, the bank said the special loans offered by the bank are concessional loans, which essentially offer the vendors more favourable terms than they would normally get.