New state-of-the-art building planned for Central Passport office

Plans are underway for the construction of a new modern building to house the Central Immigration and Passport Office, as authorities move to expand services and improve comfort for the growing number of persons accessing the facility.

During an exclusive interview with the News Room on Thursday, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer Stephen Telford confirmed that discussion are ongoing for the construction of a new structure.

“I can tell you yes it’s coming soon and the structure is likely to be right within the same area…it is on stream,” Telford said.

The new structure, which is expected to be a four-storey state-of-the-art building, is intended to accommodate the increasing demand for passport and immigration services as Guyana continues to see growth in population movement and economic activity.

“We are living in modern times and as we change the place needs to expand because when you look at the passport office years ago there had to be some form of extension and then it continues to grow because so much persons are coming to Guyana and we have to accommodate them.

Comfort is one of the main thing when you come into a public service office,” Telford explained to the News Room.

The Central Immigration and Passport Office has operated from Camp Street, Georgetown since the early 1990s and serves as the main hub for passport applications and renewals.

There are also seven other passport office locations across the country.

Telford noted that while preparations continue for the new building, efforts have been made to improve the existing facility on Camp Street.

“We don’t have anything that is affecting the operation. We have mechanism in place to facilitate visitors,” he said.

According to Telford, once construction begins, a determination will have to be made whether operations can continue at the current Camp Street location or if temporary relocation will be necessary during the building phase.

He assured that the public will be informed of any changes.