At his first press conference since being re-elected to office, President Irfaan Ali this afternoon announced the launch of a City Revival Plan to rescue the nation’s capital city of Georgetown, ensuring its beautification and modernization.

The President said with the Government already investing billions in infrastructure and development work in Georgetown over the past five years, he is ready to move forward with a number of projects to fix the city.

He said the plan will be a sustainable one that will be part of a national strategy that will see similar help being rolled out in other towns and villages nationwide.

According to the President, the implementation will begin in Georgetown and surrounding regions and will also support the First Lady’s Beautification project that is ongoing in a number of areas across the country.

“We have launched with the help of the King’s foundation, a City Revival Plan that we are now going to move forward in implementing. As you know the Government over the last five years have spent billions of dollars in Infrastructure work in the city including drainage, roads, parapets, cleaning up the city and the city Georgetown city, is the life heart of our country, is the capital of our country and we want to ensure that the city projects an image is sustainability, celebrating our heritage, showcase our inclusion, our economic transformation and the cultural heritage of our country,” the President stated.

In support of the city’s restoration project, Mr. Ali noted that a total of fifteen flagship projects will be advanced. Those projects include the development of recreational spaces, enhancement of architectural heritage, the inclusion of biodiversity in the city itself, and a series of educational programmes that would be aimed at behavioral change.

The goal he said is to return the city to the Garden city.

“Indeed, that is the identity of the city in this region and across the world. We are therefore going to work aggressively in ensuring that this identity is recreated, is expanded and that our city tells a story of this identity, the story of Georgetown’s history, heritage and built environment,” the President stated.

He said government will also be pursuing other initiatives such as the walking trail around the city as well as rehabilitated some buildings into museum and tourism attraction sites.

In addition, the President announced there will be a waterfront development in the Stabroek area, not only to boost its attractiveness, but to encourage business.

“That is another area that will see immediate work. For a matter in fact, over the last 48 hours we have reviewed a number of reports and design options on the Stabroek waterfront development, the improvement of the markets, enhancement of shopping areas and other public areas. So, the waterfront will celebrate who we are—the land of many waters,” the President said.

The President said it is incumbent on the government to intervene to fix the city, saying that the people of Georgetown, will again have a chance soon to elect their representatives to run the city.

He said there will be public education on the way the city should be treated as attention is given to improving the landscape of the city with a major focus on biodiversity.

“We will work to ensure identity is recreated and expanded to tell a story, the story of history and heritage”, the President said.

President Ali said the plan for the city will also include the expansion and development of major canals in the city, adding that consultations will take place on the full project.

The project, it was noted, also forms part of the Government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.

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