The government in keeping with commitments it made last year, has commissioned Guyana’s first amphibious excavator at the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) in Flagstaff, Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release, the landmark piece of machinery which costs more than $60 million will be used exclusively for works in the conservancy. The excavator is capable of working in waterways as deep as sixteen feet and is fully self-propelled. This gives the machine the ability to work in critical areas bringing significant relief to drainage and irrigation in those very hard to reach areas.
Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, who commissioned the excavator, expressed his views on the expectations of the machine. “This acquisition is expected to assist in executing works in those hard to reach areas that are at risk of flooding and will bring relief to residents and farmers whose economic activities are usually disrupted by flooding caused by intense rainfall and overtopping of the sea defence.”