$70M Bartica shopping mall opens next week
by Mark Ramotar

THE glass doors to a spanking new $70 million architectural masterpiece in the form of a Shopping Mall will be officially opened next week to residents of Bartica, and the public at large

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Minister Manzoor Nadir and Senior officials from his Ministry were very impressed with the design of the WK Shopping Mall in Bartica. Here in photo, they are seen, along with Tarzie, with his daughter Rabeah in his arms, taking a closer look at some nicely laid flowers on the ground floor of the Mall.

The Shopping Mall, which is located in First Avenue, Bartica, contains 27 stores (outlets) and is considered one of the 'first of its kind' in Guyana.

Several attempts were made in recent weeks to open the multi-million-dollar structure but due to problems experienced in having electricity meters set up in each of the 27 stores in the buildings, the opening date continued to be pushed back.

Minister Manzoor Nadir (second right) chats with Proprietor of the WK Shopping Mall, Mr. Tarzie and his wife Ms. Nafeera. Others in photo are, from left, Khalid, his sister Rabeah; Permanent Secretary, Mr. Willet Hamilton; and Special Projects Coordinator in the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Shafdar Alli.

In fact the Mall was scheduled to be opened yesterday, and a team from Georgetown comprising Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manzoor Nadir; Permanent Secretary in his Ministry, Mr. Willet Hamilton, and other senior officers in the Ministry along with a media team went up to Bartica for the 'grand opening'. Only then did a very apologetic proprietor, popularly known as Mr. 'Tarzie', informed the group that due to some last minute changes, the official opening is now re-scheduled for next Wednesday.

Access to electricity in the building remained the major problem hindering the Mall from opening, and at the same time, denying Barticians the use of such an impressive and modern-looking facility where they can have access to clothing, footwear, jewelry, foodstuff, and a host of other items.

Tarzie related to Minister Nadir the problems he and the various business people who want to rent the stores in his Mall, have with the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) in gaining fast access to electricity meters so that they can move their goods and clothing and other items into the building to start business as soon as possible. The Minister responded promptly to the Proprietor's plight and used his mobile phone to call the Chairman of GPL, Mr. Ronald Alli in a committed effort to resolve the problem. The GPL Chairman was very helpful and indicated to Minister Nadir that everything will be done to have a speedy resolution to the problems of having meters set up in the building as soon as persons have paid for same. This brought a relief on the face of Mr. Tarzie who indicated that all 27 stores have already been booked for rental. According to him, business people using the stores would be required to pay between US$100 and US$300 rental per month. The range in price is dependent on the size of the store, he said.

Tarzie told the media that he and his wife, Nafeera, had the idea of building a Shopping Mall for quite sometime now and they are very happy that this idea have materialized. He also lauded the contractor of the building who hails from the West Coast of Demerara for the excellent work he done in completing the building. Tarzie also noted that he named the Shopping Mall - 'WK Shopping Mall' -using the first letters of the names of his two sons, Walid and Khalid.

Sunday, April 18, 2004