The Guyana Citizen’s Initiative (GCI) is urging that the final engineering design for the Conservancy Relief Channel at Hope/Dochfour be made available for public scrutiny.
It is also urging that the new design be inclusive of the construction of a groyne at the new sluice and the rehabilitation of the collapsed groyne at the Hope Koker.
In a press release, issued on Thursday, the organisation said that making the plan available for the public to see will allow it to benefit from “widest possible expertise”.
The release said it is important for the project to be subjected to an Environmental Impact Assessment, where citizens in the channel’s path can have an opportunity to give their input.
GCI also stated that the government should pay much attention to de-silting of the mouths of the Abary, Mahaica and Pomeroon rivers. If this is not done then the excavation of canals only leads to the “creation of reservoirs and the retention of water,” the release said.
The release also mentioned the importance for the contractor to be experienced and apply a methodology that will discharge the excavated material far away from the outfalls so that material would not fall back in and silt up the outfalls again.
