The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, has signed a GY$1.3B contract with General Engineering Supplies and Services Inc. for the execution of a Guyana Flood Risk Management Project on the East Coast of Demerara.
In his remarks during the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha said though the project spans from Ogle to Liliendaal, it will significantly reduce flooding along the entire East Coast of Demerara corridor.
Noting that the Government is cognizant of the damaging effects of floods, Minister Mustapha said the project is in direct response to the major floods that rocked the nation in 2005 and 2021.
“So, as a Government, we are very cognizant of the fact that we have to improve our drainage system [and] over the years we have been doing that…I’m happy to say that over the last two and a half years, we have seen a number of pump stations, new pumps, canals, kokers, sluices being rehabilitated and as we are improving the Drainage and Irrigation aspect, the flood risk management aspect of our country, we are seeing more and more development, especially in the Agriculture Sector,” the Agriculture Minister explained.
The project, which in part will see the construction of a new pump station at Liliendaal, is receiving technical support from the World Bank.
World Bank Country Representative, Diletta Doretti said the project is critical to the alleviation of flooding on the East Coast of Demerara.
“Through the signing of this contract, the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will focus on the rehabilitation of the Ogle-Liliendaal Drainage Catchment Areas, in particular, the upgrading of the pump station at Liliendaal and the renovation of the sluice at Ogle,” she explained.
In addition to the $1.3B project, the Government has also signed a number of smaller contracts amounting to $700M for repairs to the Lamaha Canal, the construction of a laboratory for the Guyana Food Safety Authority at LBI, and for the procurement of 100 tunnel houses as part of Government’s Youth Entrepreneurial Innovation Project.
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