City Hall re-commissioning stalled as minor works still ongoing at compound

Though massive renovation works of the City Hall building completed, the City Engineer, Colvern Venture has said minor works within the compound are still ongoing.

Speaking about the progress of the years long project during a meeting on Monday with the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand, Venture said works are still ongoing for the buildings within the compound.

“There’s some minor works to be completed then we have to do some upgrades on the City Engineer buildings which has a similar construction as the City Hall building so that will be upgraded very shortly and then we will move on to the other buildings which is the building that houses the Mayor’s office,” Venture said.

He said that the administration building will also be upgraded. The buildings are expected to be done within the next six months.

The $780 million restoration project, funded by the European Union, has returned the century-old Gothic Revival structure to its former glory, following years of deterioration.

The restoration of the building was originally slated for completion in March 2023. The project was awarded in 2021 to Trinidad-based contractor, Fides Limited, and initially had an 18-month timeline.

A major task for the team is to balance the structural integrity of the buildings there and preserving the historical value of the three-storey building of City Hall itself. These challenges required meticulous planning and manual labour, further extending the project timeline.