Efforts to operationalise NAMCo within weeks

The government said it will be intensifying efforts to operationalise the National Asset Management Company (NAMCo), to include setting up an office in the city.
Information Minister Melford Nicholas said this should take place within a matter of weeks.
“We will be publishing an invitation for persons to apply to fill certain administration functions and positions. We are certainly going to move to establishing a physical presence in St John’s and one of the areas we had looked at is the Sunrise Car Park which NAMCo has acquired,” he said.
The minister reiterated a point made in recent weeks, that the government intends to forge a public/private sector partnership for the commercial use of the Car Park.
Yesterday, Minister Nicholas elaborated, “It would be a good business and we intend to make an offer for partnership certainly at 51/49 per cent stake so that the private sector, if it wants to get involved, certainly would come on board with the government and complete the facility.”
The government official said the investment will be justified because it will be successful.
The government acquired the car park for a price of US $6 million and said it expects to spend another US $6 million to complete works to get it operationalised.
Construction on the multi-level car park facility started in 2005 under the United Progressive Party (UPP) administration.
 
(More in today’s Daily Observer)