First Lady, Minister Edghill advance seawall beautification project

—private sector, other stakeholders to work on project

—restricted tendering to be done for drainage works

The Kingston seawall is set to undergo significant changes as First Lady, Mrs. Arya Ali and Minister of Public Works, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill on Friday announced more plans to upgrade the leisure hotspot. 

Speaking at a consultation at the Ministry of Public Works, Mrs. Ali said the project will be ideal for locals and tourists.

“In the initial phases, we were hoping to zone that area into a family zone, so that we can have our children in a safe and clean environment. There are activities that can happen there for the family in general,” the First Lady said.

The Public Works Minister said the project is in keeping with the Administration’s development agenda.

“In conjunction with private sector stakeholders, we plan to develop this area into a world class riverfront, seafront development with facilities that meet international standards,” he said.

The Ministry is providing the expertise, mobilisation capacity and other resources to bring the First Lady’s initiative to fruition.

Minister Edghill also delved into some of the key elements of the initiative that will transform the way patrons use the seawalls.

He said there will be, “handwashing facilities, booths for the sale of food and other items. It’s going to be an area where you can sit and relax with proper seating accommodation.

It’s going to have a balcony at the top of the construction, so that you can sit on the balcony and listen to the bands play in the bandstand or the poems that would be recited.”

Asidewalk will be constructed from the ‘I Love Guyana’ sign at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited, along with a permanent sanitary block facility, which will ease rental costs on portable facilities.

One of the soft elements of the project includes free Wi-Fi for patrons. E-Networks has already signalled its interest in providing this service.

The procurement process will begin shortly to upgrade the drains linked to the project through restricted tendering at the Regional Tender Board.  That process will utilise the list of contractors that submitted their information to the Ministry during a recent invitation for prequalification.

Minister Edghill anticipates that works on other aspects of the project would be completed by the end of September.

So far, Banks DIH Limited, the Junior Sammy Group of companies, the Guyana Chess Federation and other stakeholders are onboard.

In April, the First Lady unveiled a $25 million, 20-foot “Welcome to Guyana” sign at the roundabout near the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, as part of her National Beautification Project.