Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
$45M go down the drain at D’Urban Park
President Bharrat Jagdeo, in 2005, discussing the design for the D’Urban Park Development project
Millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money have gone to waste, as the elaborate plans for the D’Urban Park Development project have been abandoned.
After spending millions of dollars as part of infrastructural works, the area will now be used as a ‘green pristine jungle’ or ‘green zone,’ Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, said yesterday.
When asked about the status of works at the park yesterday, Dr. Luncheon said that Guyanese should not expect to see any ‘high rise building or anything else’ in that area, as it has now been declared a ‘green zone.’
“The view is to retain D’Urban Park as a ‘green area,’ and no matter what we do, to minimally maintain that zone…we would be cutting the grass and whatever is introduced in the area,” Dr. Luncheon said.
On October 19, 2005, this newspaper was among the many media houses that visited the area with President Bharrat Jagdeo.
During that visit, it was noted that the entire area, which is commonly called ‘Cuffy Square,’ would have been transformed into a recreational park by the end of 2006. At the time, land filling had begun.
On August 16, 2005, Cabinet had favourably considered the project and had offered its no-objection to the award of $45M from the Guyana Lottery Fund to be used to finance the initial phase of the project. That initial phase included land filling and minor drains.
At that visit, contractor Rameshwar Ramchand had told the President that the project (which began in September 2005) was scheduled for completion at December month’s end 2005.
During that visit, 15 percent of the land filling was completed, and President Jagdeo had asked the then Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Robeson Benn, (now Minister of Public Works) who was present, to raise with sand pit operators the idea of implementing a shift system that would ensure 24-hour access for the contractor.
The contract had included land preparation, backfilling and drainage work on 16.20 acres of land that starts from the National Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue.
Upon completing the first phase of the Durban Park project, economic, recreational and tourism facilities would have been established.
According to the design, as was revealed by Mukul Gupta, an Indian expert in town planning under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme (ITEC), who is attached to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), the D’Urban Park complex would have seen the construction of facilities to cater for track and field, football/soccer, cycling, basketball, volleyball, tennis, food courts, an administration centre and two parking lots with a 96-car capacity.
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