THE Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) will be renamed the Arthur Chung Convention Centre.This was announced by President David Granger during a high-level meeting he had at the Centre yesterday, with senior public servants, including permanent secretaries.

According to President Granger, the late Arthur Chung – who served as Guyana’s first President – “needs to be remembered”. Mr Chung served as a ceremonial President between 1970 and

1980.

The late President Chung  was born on January 10, 1918 at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara. He was educated at Windsor Forest, Blankenburg, and Modern High School. In the early 1940s, Chung entered the Middle Temple of London, England, and qualified as a Barrister in 1947. He returned to Guyana and was later appointed an acting Magistrate. In 1954, he became a Magistrate and in 1960, a Senior Magistrate. He also served as Registrar of Deeds and of the Supreme Court. He then became a Puisne Judge and finally an Appeal Court Judge in 1963.
When Guyana became a Republic under the leadership of Forbes Burnham in 1970, the National Assembly elected Chung as the country’s first President of Guyana. He held the position of President from March 17, 1970 to October 06, 1980 when a constitutional revision transformed the Presidency into an Executive position, and Mr Burnham succeeded Chung as President.
Arthur Chung was married in 1954 to Ms. Doreen Pamela Ng-See-Quan, with whom he had one daughter and one son.
Following his death on June 23, 2008 he was laid to rest at the Place of Heroes, Seven Ponds in the Botanical Gardens.
The People’s Republic of China on February 16, 2006 delivered the multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) to the Government and people of Guyana, bringing a landmark to the country.
It also brought Guyana into the modern orbit where conference centres are concerned, by creating a hub that would allow Guyana to become a fine destination for the hosting of international conferences and meetings.
The project was requested by the Government of Guyana in September 2002, and in January 2003, Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, H.E. Ma Xiuhong and then Minister Clement Rohee signed the ‘Exchange of Notes’ on the construction of the project in Guyana, during the State visit of State Counsellor of China, Madame Wu Yi.
The GICC, which was funded by a grant provided by the Government of the People’s Republic of China, was constructed at a cost of approximately US$8M. It has a main conference hall with a seating capacity of 372, five smaller conference rooms, a business centre and a restaurant.