THE old-fashioned lighting system at the National Culture Centre will be replaced with a digital one, while the decades-old air conditioning units will be replaced with new ones; the audio system will also be upgraded.

The Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports will be expending an estimated Gy$80M to complete the upgrades on the Centre this year, Minister Dr. Frank Anthony has disclosed.

Contracts for installation of the lights and the audio system have already been awarded, while one for the “retiring” of the old air conditioning units, estimated at $56M, will be awarded shortly, he said.

Commenting on recent criticisms about high rental costs for the Centre, Dr Anthony stressed that the ministry heavily subsidizes the cost of its operations. “When we put on the air conditioning unit to cool the centre for a show or a three-hour activity, it costs. Sometimes, the $80,000 or so that we charge for renting the place to producers all go back to electricity bills for the ACs.”

He said that those complaining should know that if the ministry were to charge market prices for the rental, many producers would be unable to stage their shows there.

He disclosed that the ministry will be removing from the centre some staffers who have been underperforming.
The NCC, the premier auditorium for cultural presentations, is located on Homestretch Avenue, D’Urban Park in Georgetown, and was built between 1972 and 1976.

Falling under the Ministry of Culture, the NCC is the forum for staging, developing and promoting the performing arts. It was officially opened on May 16, 1976.
Most of the AC Unit now being replaced, as well as the sound and lighting systems, have been in place since construction of the NCC, and have, in recent times, been in urgent need of repair.
Written By Clifford Stanley