Library tender to go out soon

Maintenance and repair work to cost municipality R17.6m

DESPITE the tender process for the refurbishment of the Port Elizabeth Main Library being on track, a definitive date for its reopening is still unknown.

Situated in Govan Mbeki Avenue, the library has been closed since October 2014 due to water damage.

The library was built in 1902 and is one of the city’s oldest heritage sites.

The maintenance work is set to cost the municipality R17.6-million, which will be allocated over three financial years.

A total of R5.6-million was made available for this financial year, with a further R7-million for 2016-17 and R5-million for 2017-18.

Port Elizabeth architecture group Matrix Urban Designers and Architects will oversee the project.

Municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said the tender for phase one would go out next month.

“The library is seen as a heritage building, hence the need for specialists to be brought in to do the necessary work,” Mniki said.

The building suffered water damage during heavy rains in 2013.

The roof repair work would be done in the two phases due to budget constraints.

Mniki said funds would be allocated for each phase of the project.

“The municipality has prioritised the project and is providing interim library services at Kwantu Towers,” he said.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience but we can assure the public that the matter is on top of our agenda.”

The closure of the library has been a major inconvenience to regular users.

Asanda Kula, 21, of Motherwell, who is studying hospitality management at PE College, said: “I struggled to get a lot of studying done as there is so much noise in the area I live, so I used to come to the library to study, but since it’s been closed, I have had endless problems trying to study.”