Contract awarded for $26M Water St vendors' mall
Stabroek News
May 1, 2002
Cabinet has awarded a contract worth some $26 million for the construction of the new vendors' mall on Water Street to Courtney Benn Contracting Services Ltd.
Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon, announced this yesterday and said the ongoing court matter with Toolsie Persaud Limited would not hinder the construction since it hinged on compensation and not the acquisition, which he said was a done deal.
Speaking to reporters at his weekly press briefing, Luncheon said the site on Water Street was an appropriate one and the work there would entail the laying of a tarmac on the entire surface and the establishment of drainage and sanitation facilities.
"The genesis of this effort is well known and it seeks to address the long-standing practice of large-scale vending on the busy streets of downtown Georgetown. It is anticipated that this vendors' site would bring an end to this practice," Luncheon stated.
Toolsie Persaud Ltd, owner of the property before it was acquired by government, took government to court because the amount being put up by the administration for the land was way below the value estimated by the company.