Dear Editor,
In 2010 a study called “Coastal defence cost estimates” was published by the Department of Hydraulic Engineering at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Delft University of Technology. The study estimated the cost to improve sea defences in the Netherlands, US (New Orleans) and Vietnam.
Given our history with the Netherlands, I took the estimates from the study based on the Netherlands’ specific case. Considering the length of our coastline, the rural nature of the coastal plain and the estimated sea level increase due to climate change, I was able to calculate an estimated range for the cost to improve Guyana’s sea defence. Please keep in mind that this is specifically focused on the seawall that will be needed.
Taking into account the purchasing power change in the Euro since the time of the study, an estimated €6 Billion to €15.5 Billion will be needed to improve this part of our sea defence system. Given the current level of income being obtained from the oil sector, if we were to use €1 Billion a year to focus only on improving this part of our infrastructure it would take the country between 6 to 16 years to build a seawall to deal with the threat of flooding due to a sea level rise caused by climate change. It is CRG’s recommendation that the government undertake a thorough study in this area and make the necessary plans with experienced reputable firms to implement such a major infrastructural project.
Best regards,
Jamil Changlee
Chairman
The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana