The Iwokrama International Centre and its joint venture partner, the local firm of Farfan and Mendes Ltd. are contributing to the restoration of the iconic St. George’s Cathedral, located on Company Path, in the heart of Georgetown.
Restoration work commenced this month on the northern face of the edifice, at an estimated cost of $61 million, with the National Trust of Guyana (NTG) contributing $13 million, according to a press release from Iwok-rama. This total projected cost includes the concessionary pricing for the wood which is being harvested from the Iwokrama Forest, Guyana’s only internationally certified forestry concession. McVantage, a contractor of Farfan and Mendes Ltd. will harvest, kiln dry and prepare the Greenheart wood for the restoration.
“I am pleased that Iwokrama, a Guyanese iconic institution itself, was able to provide first quality certified timber to another Guyanese iconic institution,” Dane Gobin, CEO of Iwokrama was quoted in the media release as saying.
“Iwokrama and McVantage very kindly stepped in and gave us concessionary prices for kiln dried, cured Greenheart, which is required for the building,” Fr. Andrew Carto, Dean and Rector of the Cathedral, was quoted as saying, whilst expressing his gratitude to the two entities.
Although major repair works were done 15 years ago, the Anglican Church saw the necessity to have an assessment done to determine the state of the structure, the media bulletin noted. The assessment by a Grenadian firm stated that the building was structurally sound and recommended an overall restoration at a very conservative estimate of US$2.5 million.
The Trustees of the Anglican Church decided to carry out the restoration in phases, since they could not afford the entire sum at the time, the release said. In the first phase, three years ago, the eastern side of the Cathedral was completed with contributions from the Trustees and $1 million from the NTG, under whose domain the Cathedral is protected as a national heritage building.
The Cathedral, a major landmark of the capital city, is renowned as one of the tallest wooden churches in the world, at a height of 43.5 metres (143 ft.) and is among the great Cathedrals of the Anglican Diocese of the West Indies, the release noted.
