Gov’t to start costly works on ill-fated High St building
Work on the former Guyana Broadcasting Corporation building on High Street, which is slated to become the headquarters of the Ministry of Social Protection, is expected to start soon as the Ministry is seeking tenders for its overhaul.
According to an advertisement in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek, the Ministry of Social Protection is inviting qualified contractors to tender for the completion of the administrative building at an estimated cost of $750M and the construction of Revetment, Parking Area and Driveway for the Office building at an estimated cost of $130M.
The tenders are expected to be delivered to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board no later than June 27.
In December last year, a spokesperson from the Ministry had told Stabroek News that the Ministry is planning to relocate all of its offices into the building in 2018 and as such the government had earmarked $1B in the 2017 budget for its repairs.
He had said then that the work on the building was expected to start in the first quarter of this year. It evidently won’t get underway until the third quarter.
The complex was built in 2008 but has since been the source of much controversy due to defects in construction.
The 65,000-square ft facility was initially intended to house the former Ministry of Labour, whose offices were at that time scattered throughout the city. According to a former worker, the building was more than 70% completed when works stalled, with interior works and general painting being among the final things to be done.
After it was abandoned, the compound became overgrown with grass and drug addicts subsequently occupied parts of the building.
It was next said to be earmarked for the Guyana Revenue Authority, but it objected to using the building.
In August 2012, then Minister of Natural Resources Robert Persaud announced that the government had transferred the building to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). The GGMC subsequently invited and evaluated bids for completion of the building but contention over the award saw the project put on hold and garnering the attention of Cabinet.
It was reported that the building’s foundation contained sub-standard material and the contractor, Kishan Bacchus Construction Company, had carried out works on the foundation and on the interior of the building that were in excess of contractual specifications. It was also disclosed that the ceiling of the building was improperly designed and as a result the placement of air vents and roofing works would have resulted in limited vertical space and the situation would need to be rectified.
Kishan Bacchus Construction Company only secured the contract after the initial contractor backed out of the project. It is unclear if anyone has ever been penalised for the substandard work done.
A forensic audit into the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had found that $350M in public funds was spent on the construction of the building.
NICIL’s former Executive Director Winston Brassington subsequently said that no law was broken in the entity’s funding of the ill-fated project. The funding for the project was approved at the parliamentary level.