Part-owner of the Town Centre Mall, Brent Symonette, suggested yesterday that the mall would have been a more cost-effective option for the new post office. The government instead entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) to construct the new General Post Office at the Independence Shopping centre opposite A.F. Adderley Junior High School.
Symonette told Guardian Business that he understands the government entered into a "multimillion" dollar contract to construct the new post office. Minister of Labor and National Insurance Shane Gibson said previously that the government was currently spending money to refurbish the General Post Office, but he could not comment on the cost of the new PPP agreement.
"I would imagine, you are going to find, they are going to spend more on renovating the building than it would have cost them to go into the Town Centre Mall," said Symonette.
"There would have been more parking. It would have been ready a lot earlier. It probably would have been more cost effective."
Symonette argued that if there was a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in place, more details would have been disclosed, such as who the government entered into the agreement with. "It would be interesting to compare dollar for dollar what they are giving," he said.
He explained that the government was in discussions with the mall's owners to locate the post office at the mall, but that deal never came to fruition. He contended that the decision rested in the hands of the government.
"Some government agencies have approached us. I can't remember when we last spoke, but I haven't heard anything recently and the matter is in their hands," said Symonette.
"We had an opportunity. I understand the post office could have been in Town Center Mall months ago. Instead, they decided to renovate a building with less parking.
"I don't know how close the other side was. We had drawn plans for the attorney general's office and the Ministry of Works had drawn plans for the post office."

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