The Kissoon Group of Companies (KGC) received $40 million from Diamond Fire and General Insurance Inc (DFG) yesterday as settlement of a claim for the burnt out store at Camp and Robb streets.

The sum received was 20% of the total value of the claim which managing director of KGC, Hemraj Kissoon, said amounted to $200 million.

The other insurance companies, the Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Caribbean Home Insurance Company and the Colonial Life Insurance Company have indicated that they would pay the remaining amount within a few days, Kissoon told reporters after receiving the cheque.

He said the money would be used to finance the construction of the largest mall in Georgetown on the group's property at Camp and Robb Streets. Some of the money would also be used to service loans with the group's bankers.

Plans are also being drawn up for the reconstruction of a complex at the burnt out Park Hotel site on Main Street. The complex would include a hotel, stores and other commercial centres, Kissoon revealed.

He said that the group had received 50% of the claim for the burnt out Park Hotel. The settlement of the outstanding portion is engaging the attention of the court.

Manager of DFG, Tara Chandra, stated that the $40 million was the largest payout for the one-year-old company. "I think it's one of the largest in the country that has ever been paid out for a claim like this," she said.