Digicel tops up $1b 'Curry' renovation
Published:Thursday | June 17, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Ceila Morgan, News Editor - Radio
Telecommunications company Digicel is to provide $100 million of the estimated $1 billion it will cost to repair the popular Coronation Market, which was significantly damaged during gun battles between the security forces and gunmen in the west Kingston three weeks ago.
Digicel is one of several private-sector firms which will be participating in the refurbishment of the facility.
Demolition work on the market building began on Monday, four days after Prime Minister Bruce Golding toured the damaged facilities.
Digicel said the engineering design work was at an advanced stage and the refurbishment should begin early next week, with the targeted completion scheduled for the next three to six months.
The first phase of the project will involve repairs to the fruit and vegetable section of the market.
Kier Group, the contractor for the project, will replace all fire-damaged structural steel beams and install a new roof, floor and water system - which will facilitate the collection of rainwater for reuse.
According to Colm Delves, group chief executive officer of Digicel, "Coronation Market is the focal point of trade in the downtown area. We announced our intention to refurbish the market in April, and with the events of recent weeks, this project takes on even more urgency."
Other groups involved
Daryl Vaz, the minister with responsibility for information, told the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing that government representatives met yesterday with officials from multilateral agencies and business groups to examine the requirements for the market upgrade.
"This initiative is an integral part of a wider modernisation programme for the rest of Coronation Market, which will be dealt with in a comprehensive plan being put together by the Government and the private sector," Vaz told reporters.
He also appealed to private-sector companies to offer not only cash but also technical expertise.
Dr Christopher Tufton, the agriculture minister, is chairing the committee to raise funds for the Coronation Market project. Other members are to be drawn from the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, while Christopher Zacca will represent the Office of the Prime Minister.
The repairs to Coronation, often called 'Curry', come two years after the Government had announced that it would be expediting renovation of the facility.
Plans, in August 2008, for the refurbish-ment failed to get off the ground because of financial challenges.