BERBICIANS will soon benefit from a $57.5M Passport and Immigration Office following the symbolic turning of the sod by Citizenship Minister Winston Felix and Mayor Winifred Haywood last Saturday.

The office will be located at Garrison Road, Fort Canje, New Amsterdam.
The single-flat, 40×100 feet concrete edifice will be built by M&P Investment (Maria and Pierre Walcott) and construction is expected to commence on December 15 and be completed on April 2018.
The building will have an upper flat and 95 per cent of the workforce will be drawn from the New Amsterdam township.

The building when completed will be a fulfilment of a promise made by the coalition government to decentralise immigration services.
Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony, Minister Felix said prior to the government taking office, about 400 passports were prepared daily, but that number increased to 650 afterwards.

Most of the people seeking passports came from the Ancient County.
“The David Granger Administration is creating a new engagement all over the country. It involves bringing the services from Georgetown to all the capital towns in the country, which includes Anna Regina and Linden, so that those living in the town can access government services.

“We want to get rid of the inconvenience of long lines and with your comfort in mind, improvement and efficiency within the immigration services.”
The minister recalled that the lines had been too long in the not-too-distant past, but those lines have since diminished drastically after additional equipment were purchased to enable the delivery of a better quality of service.

The minister urged the contractor to deliver quality work.
Meanwhile, just before the turning of the sod, Mayor Haywood reminded her audience that it was a red letter day for the New Amsterdam township, which is the oldest in the country.  She expressed optimism that citizens will also benefit from other government projects.