The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will be relocating to its new offices at the former Guyana Broadcasting Corporation property at High Street, Werk-en-Rust, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday.
Speaking at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing, Luncheon said that the GGMC had outgrown its current location and that the acquisition of the property was “indeed strategic…” He said funding had been made available “to complete the construction, subsequent to which major elements of the GGMC will be transferred to that location.”
The building, which was originally built at a cost of $600 million for the government in 2008, has been shrouded in controversy. It was never occupied because of a series of construction-related problems.
The 65,000-square ft facility was initially intended to house the Ministry of Labour, whose offices are 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 junkies subsequently occupied parts of the building and broke glass windows.
It was next said to be earmarked for the Guyana Revenue Authority, but that also never happened.
In August last year, Minister of Natural Resources Robert Persaud announced that the government had transferred to the building to the GGMC.
In November last year, the GGMC had invited bids for its rehabilitation and questions had been raised about the quality of the state’s supervision of the original contract and why taxpayers’ money had to be funnelled into rehabilitating what was supposed to be a brand new building.
A source had told Stabroek News that the building’s foundation contained sub-standard material and that the contractor- -Kishan Bacchus Construction Company— had carried out works on the foundations and on the interior of the building that were in excess of the specifications.
It was also said that the ceiling of the building was improperly designed and as such the placement of air vents and other roofing works would have resulted in limited vertical space and would need to be rectified.
