The upgrade of the Parika Market in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) is seeing swift progress, as the Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall anticipates its full completion in June 2023.
This was announced by Dharamlall on Thursday during a visit to the worksite.
“In a matter of a month, we will be almost at a point of completion which would serve very well to alleviate all of the problems that we have in terms of traffic [and] the business of our vendors within this area. So, by the end of this month going into next month, we are going to see massive transformation here in Parika,” the Minister remarked.
He explained that the upgrade to the Parika Market is one of the commitments made by President Dr Irfaan Ali during a visit last year. The Minister also assured that the area is slated for greater development which will see all the stalls on the road and other incumbrances being removed and placed within the market.
“Parika is a progressive area within Region Three, a lot of business is conducted here. As part of President Ali’s commitment to transform the economy of Region Three as well as the national economy, we have embarked on quite a number of community infrastructure projects. One of those projects is this market. It will be the most modern market in Guyana when it is completed,” Dharamlall remarked.
The new market will be managed by a committee that will play an integral role in the design and placement of the upgraded facility.
“There is a committee that manages the market. The vendors are part of that committee and they will work within that committee to decide on the placement [and] also decide on the size of the stalls. They will decide on the construction of the stalls, hopefully the stalls will be relatively standardised so we are going to have some uniformity within the market as well,” he noted.
The two-storey market when completed, will feature a food court, adequate parking for 50 vehicles, improved sanitation, and more. This market had on the register about 165 vendors but they were just over 60 that were actively occupying the market.
In addition to being directly opposite the police station, the market is going to have mobile and static security as well as electronic surveillance.
“As I said the market is going to have the top-of-the-line services provided to our vendors as well as our clients. We will also have security for our parking as well,” the Minister boasted.
On February 10, the previous Parika Market Complex was destroyed by a fire, affecting the livelihood of many vendors who used to ply their trade in that area.
A preliminary investigation from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) revealed that construction workers, who were in the process of rebuilding the market, were welding when sparks came into contact with nearby combustible materials. This resulted in a large fire within the span of minutes, forcing vendors out of the marketing centre. As a result, little was salvaged from the blaze.
By the time the Fire Service managed to put the fire out, the structure was completely destroyed.
Complaints were also reported of unknown persons carting off with valuables in the heat of the fire. Since then, Government has ordered that the area be cleared of debris, so as to re-establish operations.
