Highest bidder wins contract to rehabilitate Mazaruni Prisons

Feb 19, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Out of the seven contractors who had bid to execute construction works at the Mazaruni Prisons, a project being undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it was Nabi Construction Inc., which placed the highest bid, and was awarded the contract in December last.
This is according to information provided on the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) website, which states that the company will be doing construction works at the facility to the tune of $ 1,119,652,421, a price that is almost double the engineer’s estimated cost.
When tenders opened for the project in July last year, the Ministry engineer’s had estimated the project to be some $637,124,627. Four out of the seven firms had bid less than the engineer’s estimate to do the job.
Construction works at the Mazaruni Prisons have been ongoing for some time. In fact, under the previous government, contracts were signed for an expansion project at the facility.
The need for the expansion of the prison was as a result of the fire which destroyed the Camp Street facility back in 2017 and to facilitate the overcrowding at other penitentiaries across the country.
Kaieteur News had reported that under the APNU+AFC regime, a contract was given to Kee-Chanona Limited of Trinidad and Tobago in joint venture with Guyanese firm, Nabi Construction Inc., at a cost of $4 billion for the first phase of the expansion project.
That contract catered for the construction of a U-shaped two-storey building which was being erected to house cells, offices and a courtyard for the prisoners.
In 2019, Project Manager at the time, Iain Peebles told this publication that the first phase was 40 percent completed and that the project was expected to be completed in October that year. He had noted too that the second phase of the expansion of the facility would see the construction of a square building which would house offices, training centres and accommodation for the prisoners.
Following the change of government the following year, the PPP/C administration stated in its 2021 budget that the construction of the Mazaruni Prisons (first building) which would accommodate 220 high profile inmates would be completed within the first quarter of 2021.
Giving an update on the works at the Prisons, Senior Minister with the responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, during the reading of Budget 2022, stated that during 2021 over $2 billion was expended mainly to complete the first block of the Mazuruni Prisons and to commence construction of three prison blocks at Lusignan.
In 2021, a $1.2 billion contract was signed for the construction of the Lusignan facility.
Further, he stated that this year, another $2.3 billion is budgeted towards enhancing prison infrastructure.
He noted that the money will facilitate works on the Lusignan Prison which would be transformed into a modern facility to house both male and female prisoners, a vocational school, an infirmary annex, prison headquarters and to commence the work for the second prison block at the Mazaruni Prisons.

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