BK International has begun prepping the Movie Towne construction site at Turkeyen with four piles soon to be swamped and tested.
Site manager Oscar David took Stabroek News on a quick tour and overview of the site on Tuesday which is set to be an eight-theatre complex at a cost of US$20M. He said that “a project of this magnitude requires testing so we can know what loads the piles can carry”. He pointed at the four locations with erected piles.
David stated that the purpose of the tests was to find a certain material found at different depths along Guyana’s coast, which will then allow engineers to know how deep the piles can be driven.
He said that the piles will have to stay that way for at least seven days. The site manager stated that 40000 tonnes is normally then levied against the piles to test the load bearing capacity. He noted that site engineers will have to confirm the load bearing weight, but 40000 was considered an industry norm.
After the tonnage was applied for a duration of time David stated that the test would result in a pass or a fail. “In cases where the piles tests do fail in civil engineering you have floating foundations…the engineers can come up with other ideas and forms of foundation,” David stated.
In October last year, the Trinidadian proprietors of Movie Towne Guyana said construction on the US$20M facility would likely have started in December last year.
After a meeting then with President Donald Ramotar, Trinidad Movie Towne founder Derek Chin told GINA that “A lot of planning dealing with all the networking, with our architects… that took a lot of planning to ensure that we provide a state-of-the-art, world class facility here for Guyana.”
On its completion, Movie Towne Guyana will be the first branch outside of Trinidad and Tobago. It will comprise eight multiplex cinemas coupled with 30 local, regional and international stores, a bank, area for dining and a parking space for over 700 vehicles.
Chin said corporate Trinidad has also expressed a lot of interest in procuring slots for companies like Wendy’s, International, Paul Mark and First Citizens Bank (FCB).
It is expected to provide employment opportunities for hundreds of construction workers and is scheduled to be completed in less than two years on the ten-acre plot of land at Turkeyen near the Rupert Craig Highway.
“We are here to… create sustained employment, to create construction and bring something to the country that it never had before,” Chin said. According to Chin, Movie Towne has changed the landscape of entertainment in Trinidad and Tobago, providing options for family outings and it is the place for the latest in Hollywood, blockbuster regional and Bollywood movies. “We are more than just going to movies and the people of Guyana will soon experience that,” Chin assured.
