First Phase of Mazaruni Prison works to conclude in October

Apr 05, 2019 News

The first phase of expansion of the Mazaruni Prison

The second phase of expansion works on the Mazaruni prison in Region Seven started just last month, but its first phase is set to be completed by October, this year.
Minister of Public Security and acting Prime Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan received a tour of the site on Wednesday last, where he was briefed by the Project Manager, Iain Peebles, on the current stage of construction.
The contract for the construction of this prison was awarded by Cabinet to Kee-Chanona Limited of Trinidad and Tobago in joint venture with Guyanese firm, Nabi Construction Incorporated, at a cost of $4B.
Peebles informed this publication that phase one is at 40% completion, and the super structure is currently being put in place. Phase one is a U-shaped two-storey building which will house cells, offices and a courtyard for the prisoners.

Foundation being laid on Phase 2

Peebles said that the second phase will be a square building which will house offices, training centres and accommodation for the prisoners. The workers are currently laying the foundation for that phase. That phase is being built on a lower part of the island, but is strategically positioned to avoid risk of flooding. Additionally, about three feet of concrete is laid off the ground, in addition to the basic foundation.
“Phase 2 will be [completed] by the end of next year,” Peebles said.
At full capacity, the completed facility should have capacity to house about 400 prisoners, according to Ramjattan.
When construction concludes, prisoners will be moved from the Camp Street and Lusignan prisons since, Ramjattan said, the Georgetown prison is facing issues of crowding and the Lusignan prison area is not in line with international standards for the housing of prisoners.
He said, “I am very happy that at least the work is proceeding apace, because we need more prison space for our prisoners that have been under remand, and also those who have been convicted. As you know, the two fires – one in 2016 and the other in 2017 – did major damage to Camp Street to the extent that we were very much displaced.”
He said that prisoners had to be sent to Lusignan, and “scattered around the place”.
The project manager has assured that no major difficulties have been encountered during construction, and that there is no foreseen variation being made to the original design.