More than 50,000 residents of the East Coast of Demerara are set to benefit from the commissioning of a pump station at Lusignan.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), the installation, which is valued at more than $360M, includes two mechanical pumps with the capacity to drain approximately 102 gallons of water per minute.
Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder on Friday said the construction of the drainage pump is in keeping with a wider commitment by the government to ameliorate the effects of climate change on coastal communities.
“The objective of the project is the reduction in flooding in the low-lying areas of the East Demerara. These stations are being constructed at a cost of US$11, 890,000. One of the outputs of this project is to implement priority flood risk reduction in the East Coast Demerara Drainage System, by improving pumping capacity in three areas; Lusignan, Friendship-Vigilance and Hope/Enmore,” Holder said.
The pump station at Lusignan is the first to be inaugurated. The two others will follow shortly.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Delma Nedd said the newly constructed pump station will bring long-overdue relief to residents of the East Coast of Demerara.
“This morning is a clear testimony of the ministry’s mandate; with the installation of this pump, one hopes that with the responsible management of its operation residents within this catchment area are likely to be protected from adverse weather conditions. Today’s commissioning of Lusignan’s new drainage pump demonstrates once again the ministry’s commitment, to continue its efforts in preventing and managing floods along Guyana’s coastline”, she said.
Chairman of the Mon Repos–La Reconnaissance Neighbourhood Democratic Council Ayube Mohamed assured that the investment will be properly maintained. He encouraged residents to be vigilant so that the facility will serve its intended purpose.
Present also was Chairman of Region Four, Genevieve Allen, officials of the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture and representatives of the IDB and European Union delegation in Guyana.
In January of this year, Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Frederick Flatts, in an interview with DPI said that the pump at Lusignan was already operable. “We had to go ahead and get the pump started during the rainy period around Christmas. There are still some fine things to be done…”, he told DPI.
