…“It was delayed because of the weather” – City Engineer
By Ramona Luthi
Kitty Market under construction
City Engineer Colvern Venture on Thursday confirmed that construction on the Kitty Market has resumed, adding that the delay was caused by the rainy weather.
According to Venture, a section of the Kitty Market has to be redesigned and after this is done, the new completion deadline will be announced. He told Guyana Times that work had been halted for a short period because of the unfavourable weather conditions.
“The work is ongoing right now. It was stopped a little because of the rain and it was delayed because of the weather, but work is pressing on,” he said.
His comments come on the heels of media reports that works were allegedly stalled because the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) was cash strapped.
Venture refused to disclose the total cost of the construction on the Kitty Market, thus far.
Rehabilitation on the Market began early in the year by the M&CC. At the time, it was relayed by Town Clerk Royston King that after consecutive meetings with stallholders and stakeholders, it was agreed vendors would be relocated nearby and works would commence.
He added that the City Engineer’s Department would be conducting the restoration of the historic site in various phases so as to not completely displace vendors.
It was also highlighted to the public that the project was scheduled to be completed in three months. King noted that there were many technical aspects to be completed during the period, with decisions being made to retain the historic architectural design of the structure. The construction of a new sanitary block for the Market was also slated to be done during the restoration process.
At the beginning of the restoration process, many vendors expressed happiness that attention was finally being given to the Market.
However, long before the stipulated deadline of May month-end, vendors had begun complaining about the delay in works which would make it impossible for the deadline to be met and hence ,the extended time period that they would be displaced.
