Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Anand Persaud has revealed that $286 million will be set aside to rebuild the Charity Market in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), after the previous facility was destroyed by fire.
It was on the evening of July 6 that a fire flattened the Charity Market, leaving millions of dollars in losses and scores of vendors at wits end contemplating their next moves.
The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) had concluded that the fire originated from an electrical meter, which was located at the centre of the market.
During a community engagement today, Minister Persaud said a contract has already been awarded to Builders Hardware and General Supplies Construction to construct the new facility within two months.
In the meantime, Minister Persaud assured vendors that they will be given a temporary location to ply their trade until their new market is completed and ready to be occupied.
Three firemen were injured whilst battling the blaze at the Charity Market. The fire at that facility came months after the Parika Market Centre was completely destroyed on February 10.
In that case, it was determined by the Fire Service that residue from a welding torch came into contact with nearby combustible materials, leading to the horrific fire.
Meanwhile, it was only a few days ago that a fire of electrical origin destroyed the Corriverton Market in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). That fire was caused by an overheated electric fan which was left plugged into an outlet in one of the market stalls.
