Panko Steel Fabrication and Construction, the company that was constructing the second phase of the Parika Market Complex when it was destroyed by fire more than a month ago, has committed to rebuilding the entire market complex, while a road has since been rehabilitated to assist in temporary vending by displaced vendors.
Regional Chairman of Region Three, Inshan Ayube, yesterday spoke with Stabroek News and said that the company promised ministers and vendors to rebuild the entire market within a three-month timeframe. Works have since started on the foundation of the market. It remains unclear if the project was retendered. Calls by the newspaper to Minister Nigel Dharamlall’s phone and a number purported to belonging to an “Andy”, said to be the contractor for the company, went unanswered.
Meanwhile, photos have surfaced on the Facebook page of Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, of a rehabilitated road located parallel to the burnt-out market. According to Ayube, that road was rehabilitated to facilitate temporary vending.
On February 10th a massive fire destroyed the Parika market complex, leaving more than a dozen vendors counting their losses which included clothing, food items, jewellery and electronics amongst other articles. The Guyana Fire Service investigations later concluded that the cause of the fire was as a result of welding sparks, which were being carried out on the roof by the said construction company, coming into contact with combustible materials.
Many vendors had recalled hearing sounds that sounded like explosions prior to the huge eruption. According to the vendors, a stall which allegedly sold squibs and other explosives was located beneath the ongoing welding works, and it is felt that those were the combustible materials that were ignited by the welding sparks.
Meanwhile, to aid with their losses, the Govern-ment of Guyana provided to affected vendors $300,000 in funding while Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) opted to provide concessional loans to the said vendors. In December last, Panko Steel Fabrica-tion and Construction Company was awarded a $270 Million contract for the second phase reconstruction of the market. The contract was signed between a representative of the company and Perma-nent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Govern-ment and Regional Deve-lopment, Prema Ramanah-Roopnarine.
