The European Union this afternoon said that it was gravely concerned at the record overtopping of the sea defences several weeks ago and is extending a mission by one of its teams so that it could provide concrete recommendations to the Ministry of Works.
The EU is a major financier of the sea defence sector here.
The statement follows:
The European Union [EU] like the entire Guyanese population is gravely concerned at the recent record overtopping of the sea defences that resulted in flooding to parts of the coastland and various wards of the City of Georgetown.
In swift reaction, the EU Delegation in Guyana has requested the extension of a technical mission of a coastal engineering design expert from Consultancy with Engineering, Environmental Science and Economics [COWI] who is currently engaged in similarly related works to assess the possible solutions to this emergency.
At the same time, the EU has been providing to the Government of Guyana technical expertise in the sector of coastal and marine structures and construction. The coastal engineering expert has recently assessed the quality and extent of the support provided by the EU in the recent reconstruction of sea defences at various sites along the coast (9th EDF with EUR 17 Million), in order to advise the Government of Guyana in further development of its Sea Defence Strategy, which the EU is preparing to support by contributing up to EUR 15 Million over the next three years.
As a matter of urgency, the EU has therefore agreed to extend and expand the mission of the COWI expert (who is presently in the country), to assess the overtopping of the sea defences along the Rupert Craig Highway and to make concrete recommendations to the Ministry of Public Works to mitigate future occurrences. The expert is expected to provide his final report and recommendations to the EU and the Ministry of Public Works by the end of June.
The Head of Delegation of the EU in Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecký is hopeful that the consultant together with the technical team from the Ministry of Public Works will formulate an effective strategy to address the issue.
Ambassador Kopecký also heaped praise on Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn and his team who responded efficiently and ensured that the flooding was brought under control as the high tides continued to overtop the sea defences.
