$16M fire station for Diamond under construction

Jan 12, 2012 News

Residents of the East Bank Demerara will shortly have a spanking new

The $16M Diamond Fire-Station under construction

fire-station constructed at a cost of $16M.
Following reports of shoddy works, this publication visited the worksite yesterday which lies adjacent to the Diamond Secondary School. Work commenced on the project in December by contractor Gharshan Sookdeo and was scheduled for six months.
The contractor has refuted claims of shoddy works and said that the project will be completed before the April deadline.
The building is 45 feet at its widest point and runs for some 70 feet in length.
There is an open, roofed area that runs along the centre of the building which will house a fire tender and stands at 24 feet in height.
E&A Consultants have been identified with the project with the client being the Ministry of Home Affairs.
This newspaper understands that the Engineer’s Estimate for the project placed the cost at $19M and G&S Construction, owned by Sookdeo, secured the contract with his $16M bid.
The 2011 Budgetary Estimates for the Ministry of Home Affairs, under which the project falls, had indicated that the Ministry was allocated some $55M as part of a $65M to complete a fire station at Mahaica, the construction of the one at Diamond and a training school at Leonora. That sum also included the payment of retention.
While the Diamond project does entail a culvert at the entrance to allow for a bridge, it does not involve a perimeter fence.