The clearing of 20 acres of land for the construction of a government office complex has been completed, the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill has reported.
The complex, with a price tag of $15.8B will be used to house all government ministries, making it a “one-stop” for citizens seeking government services.
The project, however, faced come criticisms from the opposition regarding the payout of the mobilisation fee and at least two location changes.
But Edghill has assured that the project has been transparently discussed and is a crucial initiative aimed at modernising government infrastructure and consolidating services for all Guyanese.
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧,” 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝.
In his address, the minister provided a comprehensive update on the project, confirming that as of September 2024, it is 6% complete.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞:
- 99% completion of all legal work and preliminary processes
- 100% completion of geotechnical investigation stage one
- 100% completion of land clearing for 20 acres
- 100% mobilisation of site offices
- 100% confirmation of the actual site location by the Ministry of Public Works
- 99% completion of sand filling for both temporary and permanent works on 13 acres
- 100% completion of conceptual design
- 95% completion of geotechnical investigation stage two
- 25% completion of detailed design
The work completed thus far includes extensive offsite preparations, such as steel fabrication, which are essential for the timely construction of this modern facility. Minister Edghill emphasised that the current lack of visible activity on-site does not indicate a slowdown, rather much of the work is currently offsite, with steel being fabricated in factories before being assembled on the location.
The minister noted that this reflects the meticulous planning required for a project of this scale.
When the contract was signed, a total of $2.6 billion was paid as the mobilisation advance. All other payments will be, or are made, based on measured deliverables. Assuring the public that everything will be done to ensure that the project remains on track for completion by August 23, 2026, the minister called for an end to the “recklessness” of the opposition’s rhetoric.
“𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬.”
This transformative project is expected to significantly alleviate traffic congestion and parking challenges for citizens seeking access to government services. Strategically located in Eccles, the complex features three entry points accessible from major roadways, including the Demerara Harbour Bridge, the Ogle East Bank bypass, and Heroes Highway.
