Reconstruction of the Mahdia arcade is moving apace and is expected to be completed before the end of the second quarter.
Fire, said to be electrical in origin, gutted the arcade at central Mahdia, in the Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) in July last year, leaving millions of dollars in losses behind.
The contractor has already completed the concrete foundation of the market square, while the nine-foot wide aisles between sections of stalls are under construction.
Regional Chairman Senor Bell told Stabroek News Wednesday that the work was affected by recent rainy weather but plans to restructure the area have been moving apace. He said that a sanitation block was being installed at the arcade.
On completion of the foundation of the market square, those persons who were demarcated stalls within the area as set out in the arcade plan will be tasked with constructing their stalls—20ft by 20 ft in dimension—using their own finances. In addition, the area will also receive electricity and stallholders will utilise designs which will give the area a uniform look, a resident in the area noted. Bell said the project is being overlooked by officials of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
Recently, Chairman of the Mahdia Fire Victims Committee Floyd Herman expressed appreciation for the government’s assistance with the project in the form of some $25 million.
The money is also being used to clear a parcel of land adjoining central Mahdia, where house lots will be allocated to those who were affected by the fire. Bell said contracts to this effect were already awarded.
Several organisations, including Red Thread, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) and communications giant Digicel also assisted the community in the aftermath of the fire, in the form of finance, food, clothes and building materials.
The mining community suffered a tremendous blow on July 1 last year, when the fire reduced the arcade to rubble, leaving more than 100 persons homeless. The fire took several hours to be contained and in the end the entire arcade was gutted.
Several days later, Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told Stabroek News that investigations revealed that the fire had started in a room within a building aback of the arcade. The room had been illegally wired. No one was held accountable for the fire.
Several private companies, mainly those within the mining area, later collaborated towards the establishment of a fire unit. Residents also immediately made plans to rebuild the commercial area, which is sustained primarily by the community’s mining activities.
