Sod turned for $1.029B reconstruction of New Amsterdam Market

…project set for completion in 20 months

The sod was turned on Friday for the $1.029 billion New Amsterdam Market, which is expected to be completed in about 20 months.
The project will be executed in phases and will include three market buildings, an open vending area, parking, improved drainage, and other external works. Approximately 323 vendors currently operate within and around the market, and officials say the phased construction was designed to minimise disruption and ensure that those who depend on vending for their livelihoods can continue earning while the facility is rebuilt.
The $1 billion project has been divided into four lots. Singh & Son Construction was awarded Lot One for $334.4 million; Emerald’s General Contracting & Distributors, Lot Two for $2584 million; A. A Construction, Lot Three for $278 million; and Engineered Construction Company, Lot Four for $159 million.
Origin Investments Inc is the consultant for the project.
The reconstructed market will have more than 190 permanent stalls as well as a 6230-square-foot open vending area. It will feature designated sections for dry goods and services, vegetables, meat and other commodities, along with a dedicated food court, male and female washrooms, administrative space, a service/goods lift, and accessibility provisions.

The meat section is to have 33 stalls, separated according to the type of meat being sold, while another building will accommodate 106 vegetable stalls and six dry-goods stalls. Parking, external walkways, improved drainage, and facilities catering for persons with disabilities are also included in the design.
An engineer attached to the project explained that construction will proceed in stages to avoid shutting down the entire market.
Under the first phase, a building at the rear of the compound will be demolished, and affected vendors temporarily relocated. That section will subsequently accommodate the meat vendors and the open vending area, after which vendors occupying other sections can be shifted as construction progresses.
The individual buildings are expected to take approximately 13 to 15 months to complete, while the entire project, including the external works, is projected to be completed within about 20 months.
Local Government and Regional Development Minister Priya Manickchand told vendors that the intention was not simply to construct a facility for those presently trading inside the market but to create sufficient space to bring those operating outside into an organised market environment.
“We didn’t come in here and build a market for the people in the market. We came in here, and we’re building a market that could accommodate everybody who is currently in the market and out of the market,” she said.
However, vendors also raise concerns about conditions they say are affecting their ability to compete, including persons vending immediately outside the municipal market and businesses operating in close proximity to the facility.
They complained that persons selling similar goods along the roadway were competing with established vendors who pay to operate within the market.
Vendors also pointed to supermarkets and other businesses operating near the market and questioned who granted permission for such operations. Particular concern was expressed about a commercial complex being developed immediately adjacent to the municipal market, which vendors said they understand will include a supermarket and other services already available within the market.

Privately owned properties
Responding to concerns about businesses operating on privately owned properties, Manickchand sought to distinguish those operations from activities authorised by the Government.
“The Government didn’t give the Chinese any land. It’s people renting their private properties or selling it from private individuals. And that’s not something you can stop,” she told the gathering.
“You can’t stop persons who own their own land and transported land, which gives them indefeasible title, from doing with it as they please. That would be against the law. So, it’s not Government,” the Minister added.
However, Manickchand said the reconstruction would provide sufficient space for the authorities to address the separate issue of roadside vending.
She explained that it would be unfair for vendors operating inside the market to pay fees and comply with market requirements while others were allowed to sell outside without being subjected to the same arrangements.
“Once the market is built, people have to come into the market,” Manickchand said.

Stall allocations
She said the Government already has a register, obtained from the Mayor and Town Council, identifying the existing vendors, and warned that persons would not be able to suddenly establish roadside operations in an attempt to secure space in the reconstructed facility.
Once the new market is available, she said, those vending along the roadside would be required to move inside.
“If you don’t want to use the space in here, then you will have to be forcibly removed because we have to restore order,” the Minister stated.
Meanwhile, the question of enforcement against persons currently vending outside the market was also raised with New Amsterdam Mayor Wainwright McIntosh, who referred the matter to Town Clerk Sharon Bacchus.
Bacchus said enforcement exercises were already being undertaken but acknowledged that vendors often returned after enforcement personnel left the area. “It’s an ongoing exercise, and we will continue to enforce the law,” she said.
Manickchand said the improved market is intended to provide better drainage and a more organised environment while creating conditions under which vendors can compete on a more level playing field.
She also assured vendors that construction would be undertaken in phases specifically to avoid depriving them of their earnings.
Regional Chairman Junior Basant similarly said the existing market would continue functioning alongside construction so that vendors would not lose trading days.
“It’s fitting that we have a safe space where vendors, commuters, and everybody in this market can operate in a safe, comfortable, and reliable manner… it will allow you to ply your trade in comfort,” Basant said.
Mayor McIntosh, meanwhile, placed the investment in the context of New Amsterdam’s 135th anniversary, saying the reconstruction represented another step in the town’s development.
Regional Executive Officer Ronald Harsawack was also among the officials attending Friday’s ceremony.
Upon completion, the reconstructed market is expected to provide designated areas for different categories of trade and allow vendors presently operating along the roadside to be accommodated within the market compound, along with improved parking, drainage, sanitation and accessibility facilities.