Customs House to undergo $123.5M in renovations -Trotman

Jul 23, 2016 News

–to serve as Bureau of Statistics Head Office

Cabinet has granted its no objection to a contract worth $123.5M to renovate the old Customs House located on Main Street. Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, made this disclosure, during the post Cabinet

The Customs house which will be converted into the Bureau of Statistics headquarters.

press briefing.
He stated that the contract will be split into several components. The first one deals with civil works and that contract was awarded to Project Design and Construction Incorporated to the tune of $48.5M.
The second component, electrical works, will be carried out by Cummings Electrical for $26.1M.
For security and data network installation, NT Computeac, will be carrying out this phase. Their contract is worth $27.8M. Antarctic Maintenance will be installing Air Conditioning units for some $21M. This brings the total cost to some $123.5M.
It is understood that the building will serve as the headquarters for the Bureau of Statistics after renovations. Last year, Chief Statistician Lennox Benjamin, said that this was a provision made by Government to have permanent headquarters for the country’s central statistical office.
He added that the Bureau has been established since 1987, but this is the first time it will have a permanent home.
The Bureau is responsible for conducting censuses, collecting, compiling, analyzing and publishing socio-economic and other statistical data, coordinating with other government departments in compiling, analyzing and publishing statistics derived from administrative records and organizing a coordinated scheme of social and economic statistics for Guyana.
Customs House once housed the headquarters of the Guyana Revenue Authority which has moved to Camp Street.
In 2014, the property was advertised for sale by the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), under the previous administration. There were reports that a buyer was found but there were no official announcements.
Former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, had made it clear that his Government had no intention of putting it to use for any government purpose.