The first tranche of the US$6.7 million grant signed between Japan and Guyana in 2007 for the rehabilitation of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) could possibly be released early next year, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said yesterday.
While addressing members of the media and the members of the Japanese team currently in Guyana, Persaud said he hoped that the first set of money would be released early next year, after the Japanese Cabinet gives its approval based on the studies conducted by the team.
Persaud and Lionel Wordsworth, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), met with members of the Japanese team currently in Guyana to conduct further studies on the Conservancy. GINA had reported last week that this is the fourth team from Japan to be visiting the country for this purpose. Yesterday’s meeting took place in the boardroom of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Agriculture Minister said that the US$6.7 million ($1.3B) will be utilized for two components of the project. The overall aim of the project is to strengthen the conservancy. About US$2.26 million, Persaud said, would be used for the supply of machines while the rest of the money would be spent on the building and rehabilitation of sluices and other structures, including the sluice at Cunha. The Cunha sluice, which drains water from the EDWC into the Demerara River, has not been functioning at its full capacity for several years now.
YaKu Yoshida, the Project Identification Expert, told this newspaper that a team of seven consultants will be conducting further studies on the conservancy. He said that five members of this team are already in Guyana while the other two are expected here next week. Wordsworth, in brief remarks, noted that the NDIA has already started work on improving the EDWC. Regarding the support of the Japanese, Wordsworth said that the NDIA has adopted a revised framework on how they will implement the project in a timely manner.
The US$6.7 million agreement was signed as part of a Joint Declaration on Enhanced Co-operation in Environment and Climate Change issues signed between President Bharrat Jagdeo and then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during a trip by Jagdeo to Tokyo.
The EDWC serves the functions of a flood control structure and a source of irrigation for agricultural lands during the dry season.
The floods of 2005 had resulted in overtopping of the conservancy and prompted action by government to upgrade and strengthen the structure through a number of projects.
Recently the government commenced work on a $3.6 billion northern Relief Channel at Hope/Dochfour which is supposed to help in better management of the water in the conservancy. The support of the Japanese government is supposed to complement the work being done on the canal.