– following World Bank approval of project
Drainage and irrigation along Guyana’s coast are expected to see significant improvement with the soon-to-commence major rehabilitation work worth some US$45 million on 63 sluices spearheaded by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA)
This announcement was made yesterday by Minister of Agriculture, during a community meeting at Kortberaad Village on the East Bank of Berbice, one of several held with farmers and residents along the Corentyne coast, a release from the Ministry of Agriculture stated.
The World Bank on July 10 announced approval of the US$45m project to help Guyana adapt to climate change and reduce flood risk on its coast.
Financed by Norwegian grant money, the initiative is set to benefit around 320,000 people, approximately 40 percent of the country’s population, including the most vulnerable, according to a release from the World Bank. It noted that Guyana is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
The minister yesterday said: “We have a programme with the World Bank that will see 63 sluices across the country being rehabilitated. That project will commence shortly. The project … is expected to commence in July. There are a number of sluices in Black Bush Polder that will be rehabilitated as part of that project, one being the Pepper Sluice at Cumberland. That is a major drainage area. Sluices in New Amsterdam, Corentyne, and across the coast will also undergo rehabilitation work. We will also be acquiring dredges to clear outfalls.”
Responding to issues about drainage, residents heard that the government was working to ensure that citizens receive “maximum benefit” from the resources being made available, and that rehabilitation works on the Kortberaad crown dam are ongoing.
“We will continue to make the interventions and make the resources available. For 40 years no work was done on the crown dam. We are now doing that. As soon as we get a break in the weather again we’ll continue those works.”
Meanwhile, during a site visit to the pump station at Adventure on the Corentyne Coast, Mustapha disclosed that the pump station will be commissioned in the coming weeks. Approximately $448 million has been spent to construct the pump station which is outfitted with two large pumps with the capacity to drain 300 cubic feet per minute.
He also met with farmers and residents from Number 52 to Number 74 villages and informed that works have commenced on the internal drainage channels for the Hope-like canal on the Corentyne Coast.
“We are doing a massive drainage system across the country. Works have commenced with the high-level Hope-like canal in the Number 51 to Number 52 Village area. The embankment from Number 66 to Canje has started and very shortly the second phase of the project from Lancaster will be awarded so that the entire project can move forward”, Mustapha said.
He also told the farmers that clearing and maintenance work would be done on several canals in the region. He added that most of those canals were cleared but no maintenance was done and that the NDIA is in the process of developing a maintenance programme to ensure those canals are properly maintained.
Mustapha also met with farmers from Lesbeholden. He told them that the seed paddy facility is expected to become operable in the coming months and once the facility is operable, it will have the capacity to produce 6,000 bags of seed paddy per crop, the release added.
