A LEASE and agreement was yesterday inked between President of Giftland Mr. Roy Beepat, representative of Levi’s and Dockers Ms. Crystal Ramdeo, and Giftland Mall Property Manager Mr. Christian Bautista, for a 2,500 square foot store for the premier brands to be the newest feature of the Giftland Mall at Turkeyen.Ramdeo, in remarks at the event, said she was pleased to introduce and welcome Levi Strauss and company to Guyana, and this will be the first stand-alone concept store in the Caribbean at the Giftland Mall.

She noted that Levi has done their research and expressed a vote of confidence in this venture. Usually Levi is acquired locally through resellers but this store will afford better quality and options for customers.

Ramdeo added that men and women will be able to wear the original 501 label which is the signature label and, as the exclusive retailer, they are pleased to be working with this company.

Meanwhile, the President of Giftland, Mr Beepat, told reporters that construction of the Giftland Mall is without a doubt a very significant development in Guyana.

He said the mega project is aimed at bringing “a new experience for customers” and it will have a family-oriented atmosphere which will cater for both adults and children. The mall will provide a number of new and exciting features in terms of the food, recreation and shopping options, location, security and family atmosphere.

Beepat stated that the mall will address many issues. He pointed out that when the project started they envisaged that the place will be one where people can take their families and have a secure and satisfying shopping experience.
The design of the mall caters for a 60,000 square foot walking space alone.

He said that although they have had many difficulties putting the project together because of the unreliability of the power supply, they decided to install air conditioning units powered by their own power plant.

20,000 PERSONS PER DAY
In addition, he said, they foresee a 1.2 to 2 MW per day consumption at the mall and also have their own sewerage treatment plant since an estimated 20,000 persons will be passing through its doors per day.

Beepat stated that they will have a very large water consumption too and they have a water treatment plant with three fountains and a bus terminal, plus a 500-car parking area and additional parking space for staff and delivery personnel.

As for security, Beepat told reporters that they have hired a security service which is headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago.

He added that there will be four 20-foot aquariums with live tropical fishes as well as salt water fishes and a secure playground for children which will feature many activities.

Beepat said children can be left in that area by their parents, who can visit the adult arcade and bars. There will be 16 different food concessions on board and a few more in the pipeline for the opening with a 500-seat food court.

He said the mall will also feature an entertainment ‘Strip’ with bars, fine dining restaurants and 120 different concessions as well as ATMs for all major banks, supermarkets, a pharmacy and Giftland stores.

POWER PLANT
After the press briefing, there was a media tour of the power plant which has been completed and is now waiting for the arrival of the fuel tanks to be outfitted.
The 5MW power plant is one of the highlights of the entire project. One of the focuses of the project is to ensure its sustainability and reliability of its infrastructure. In a project of this scale, it is a must that all of its facilities should be 100% sustainable.

The power plant has two units – 2.5MW engine. The brand of engines is MAN which is made in Finland. MAN is one of the leading brands of generator manufacturers in the world.
The power plant will have a team of full-time electrical and mechanical engineers and power plant technicians who will man the system on a 24-hour basis.
The power plant engineering team will include engineers from both PDV and engineers from Guyana.