Minister of Housing and Water, Collin D Croal on Monday turned the sod for a new Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) regional office at Lethem.
Also present at the sod-turning which was held at the Lethem Commercial Block, where the new office will be constructed was the Director of Hinterland Services for GWI, Ramchand Jailall, a release from the CH&PA said. Under the 2021 budgetary allocation to GWI, the sum of $23M has been budgeted for the construction of the new office.
The release said that bids for the project are currently being evaluated, following which an award will be made and mobilisation will begin. The project is expected to last three months. According to Croal, the new office will ease the financial burden on the water company, as it is currently renting office space for its operation in Lethem.
A section of the soon-to-be-constructed building measuring 24×40 ft will house the CH&PA’s operations.
According to Croal, this signals the direction in which the Ministry of Housing and Water intends to go, as it relates to strengthening its regional offices and offering a better quality of service to its customers.
Already under the CH&PA officers have been appointed in Regions Five and Six. In Region Two, a building has been identified for a housing office, while additional staff has been employed to strengthen capacity. Plans are also in place for a regional office for GWI in Bartica which will also house the first-ever CH&PA regional office.
