The historic signing at the Presidential Secretariat in Georgetown followed an agreement reached last year between the Government of Guyana and CARICOM, and ensures this country's fulfillment of a promise made 25 years ago to the grouping for the headquarters to be built here.

The contract has been awarded to local company, S.A Nabi and Sons General Building and Civil Engineering Contractors. The duration of the project is 18 months, and according to Mr. Gazz Sheermohamed, Managing Director of the contracting firm, a preliminary survey will be done on the site at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown within the next three weeks, after which actual work on the structure will begin.

CARICOM Secretary-General, Mr. Edwin Carrington, said yesterday's signing is an important step forward, not just symbolically for the community, but in maintaining the fact that CARICOM is a "living, active and growing institution".

Carrington, who witnessed the signing ceremony, recalled with a sense of pride the number of years he has spent in Guyana, during which he had visualised Guyana building the CARICOM Secretariat in such close proximity to the University of Guyana, with a municipal airstrip established nearby so that people can fly here in an hour or an hour-and-a-half from places such as Port-of-Spain, Paramaribo and Bridgetown, hold meetings and consultations, and then fly out in the evening.

That "vision is now being fulfilled", he said and thanked President Jagdeo and his Government for having the commitment and will to make this vision a reality.

"My staff is eagerly awaiting the news...and I can assure them that I saw it with my own eyes that the document was signed," a smiling Carrington said, adding, "You can understand my joy and absolute pleasure at the reaching of this agreement."

President Jagdeo thanked the Secretary-General for being at the important occasion and said, "I am very happy that my Government was able to fulfill this commitment."

"It's just another indication of our strong commitment to the future, to Guyana and to CARICOM."

"We are extremely pleased that we can keep a commitment that was made such a long time ago," President Jagdeo said, referring to the commitment by Guyana since 1975 to build the CARICOM Secretariat here.

The Guyanese Head-of-State pointed out that in addition to the CARICOM Headquarters and Convention Centre to be built at Liliendaal, the development of the Ogle Airport into a municipal airport, and building hotels in the area "are all in keeping with that vision".

"We are hoping that the area will be a hub for international activities and we hope that CARICOM will be having more of its meetings right here in Guyana," he said.

"It's very important for us to keep this commitment and in spite of what we've heard and from time to time we ourselves have been critical of some issues in the region, we are strongly committed to CARICOM and to our region and I want to make sure that there is no doubt about that (and) criticisms from time to time should not be interpreted as a lack of commitment to this region," the President pointed out.

Mr. Jagdeo also believes that the regional bodies have played an important role, especially in Guyana's lobbying efforts and functional cooperation.

He, however, noted that "there are many things that we need to build and improve on but there is no doubt that there is a place for the region within the new global dispensation."

The President was also optimistic that, based on an agreement with Barbados, the headquarters of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy will be housed in the CARICOM Secretariat building when it is completed.

"So we will not just manage CARICOM from here but the administration of the Single Market and Economy will also be done from within that same building and Guyana could become the Brussels of the Caribbean; that's what I am hoping to happen too."

Through a Non-Project Grant, the Japanese Government is helping Guyana in meeting the cost of the project by making 500 million Japanese yen available.

Given the nature of the agreement between Guyana and Japan, the Japanese contribution adds up to about US$4.2M, officials said. The Guyana Government will provide the rest of the funds from mainly the National Insurance Scheme, which will be to the tune of US$4M.

The CARICOM Headquarters will essentially be a two-story building, built structurally of steel, and curtain-walled with aluminum and glass.

Apart from setting up the main building, with size specifications of 317 by 157 feet, the project will include the construction of two "service" buildings that will each measure 98 by 21 feet.

The construction company is no stranger to such large-scale projects, having worked on bigger projects in Barbados, Company Secretary, Mr. Shir A. Nabi told the Chronicle.

Locally, the firm's recent project has been the construction of the new National Bank of Industry and Commerce (NBIC) building in Georgetown. Past projects include Takuba Lodge, the National Cultural Centre and the Bank of Baroda, also in the city.

The firm is also engaged in the construction of the Rose Hall, Berbice water treatment plant to the tune of almost G$1 billion.

On February 25, 1998, then President Janet Jagan joined four CARICOM Prime Ministers and Carrington for the sod-turning ceremony at the site.

The CARICOM Secretariat is currently housed on the top floors of the Bank of Guyana building and has offices scattered around the city.

The late President Cheddi Jagan was instrumental in seeing that the plot of land for the headquarters building was allocated.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation gave the Government a 40-acre plot of land, 14 of which will be used for the construction of the secretariat, officials said.