Two years after the Brickdam Police Station was completely gutted by fire, the Government today turned the sod for the start of the construction of the new US$28.1M building.
The Bassoo Building and Civil Engineering Company has won the contract for the Police Station’s reconstruction.
This time around, the central Police station will be state-of-the-art and is expected to have a total of 12 storys with a number of modern amenities and security features.
Several Policing Departments will also he housed at the new building.
President Irfaan Ali, who witnessed the signing in the presence of the Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn and the Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, said the construction of the modern edifice is part of Government’s “overarching plan” to strengthen the country’s security architecture.
“For the national security infrastructure to function in a holistic way, in a comprehensive way and in unison, it requires every facet of the security apparatus of the country to function in a seamless way. So, the security architecture is linked to the security apparatus, [and] the security apparatus, is basically all facets of our security structure in the country working in an integrated way,” President Ali said.
He said as part of that security architecture, Guyana will establish a marine division within the Guyana Police Force.
“We are building out for the first time a marine division that would be capable of utilizing our river asset in crime positioning, crime fighting and proactive intelligence work. So, right now, we are in the process of acquiring state-of-the-art marine assets to support the work of Guyana Police Force. Outside of this, we are building an air capacity and capability for the Guyana Police Force that will be integrated with the Guyana Defence Force, because we are going to move a lot of our air capacity and capability to the new hangar at Ogle that the Guyana Defence Force is constructing and rehabilitating right now,” the President disclosed.
The new facility will also be equipped with important assets to advance the country’s crime fighting capability. The President said the Government is integrating the assets of the security and defence arms to maximize their use.
“In the Guyana Police Force, for example, we will have an integration between the chopper, the sea craft capability, the air capability and the land capability. Of course, in the land capability, we are already investing heavily in bikes, in the motor vehicles, in buses, in ATVs. So, we are building that capability out,” he said.
Attention, he said, is also being placed on the Police Force’s human resource asset.
President Ali said it is his government’s intention to relocate the majority of the services at Eve Leary to the Brickdam Police Station. Such a move will allow for the Force’s administration to transform the facilities at Eve Leary into a world class Police academy that will serve the country and the region.
He emphasized that the developments unfolding in the Guyana Police Force must not be viewed in isolation to the developments unfolding in the national security architecture.
He said the national security architecture is not only about crime fighting but also about developing and maintaining a safe and peaceful society.
Minister Benn, in his address, underscored the importance of the police working together to achieve the Force’s objectives.
Meanwhile, the Contractor, Roy Bassoo of Bassoo Building and Civil Engineering Contractors, explained that the new Brickdam Police Station will be built in partnership with the Quin Gin company (CNQC).
He said the two companies will work to have the station completed well within the 30-month construction timeframe, and in keeping with international standards. (Svetlana Marshall)
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