Despite the dismal state of a number of roads in central Georgetown, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) project manager Orin Browne says the company is pleased with the progress it has been making in upgrading the sewerage system and repairing the roads that were damaged in the process.
“From the time the project has commenced to now, despite the hardships we have faced, despite the shortage of materials and the constraints, we have prevailed,” Browne told Stabroek News.
According to Browne, the operation is 95% complete, and all works, both upgrades and repairs will be completed by the end of July as they are being done simultaneously.
Commenting on the largest work site, the force main located beneath the junction of Camp and New Market streets, he indicated that the excavation is more significant because the underlying structure is the main connection where the eastern and western wings meet.
“There are valves that must be strategically placed in order for us to control the system,” he said, adding that this junction is where the force main exits to the Atlantic.
The sanitation system comprises 24 pumping stations in central Georgetown and a collecting station in Tucville, Brown explained. He said these stations are all connected to delivery mains which are connected to the force main.
He related that 14 stations are currently in operation and 23 should have been operational by the end of Tuesday.
The delay in the road repairs was caused by a shortage of materials, Browne said. He, however, noted that “To a great extent the contractors have been in receipt of a good quantity of construction material, primarily the asphalt, so we have sufficient quality to take us to the end of the project.”
Browne, on behalf of the company said that “GWI has been doing its very best, we would like to thank the general public for their patience and tolerance during the last 18 months of construction.”
The work is being done under the US$10M Georgetown Sanitation Improvement Programme.
