The Government of Guyana has signed a US$45 Million agreement with the World Bank for the Coastal Adaptation and Resilience Project, which seeks to ramp up efforts to strengthen the country’s flood adaptation and resilience.

The project will see the rehabilitation or complete replacement of more than 45 kokers/sluices across Guyana to enhance flood risk management. 

During the signing ceremony, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh noted that the Government has been ramping up investments to address the strengthening, expansion and rehabilitation of the country’s Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) infrastructure, not only for the agriculture sector, but also to protect citizens and their properties.

“This intervention will increase Guyana’s resilience and adaptive capacity to prevent, manage and mitigate flooding across its coastal regions, safeguarding lives and livelihoods and building on the extensive investment that the Government has made in strengthening its coastal resilience. The Ministry of Agriculture will be the project’s executing agency while the World Bank will act as a partner entity, bringing its technical expertise on flood risk resilience and its fiduciary, social and environmental safeguards,” the Ministry of Finance has noted. 

During brief remarks, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, said that the project is in keeping with the Government’s vision for the enhancement of the drainage and irrigation infrastructure.

World Bank Group Resident Representative for Guyana and Suriname, Diletta Doretti, said the project is also a critical component of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, and aligns well with the country’s broader vision for climate resilience.

Under Component 1 of the project, the rehabilitation and replacement of kokers will benefit an estimated population of 320,000 people and assist in protecting more than 130 sq. km of urbanized area and 1,270 sq. km. of agricultural land in the connected catchments. 

Under Component 2, the investments will continue to enhance the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority’s (NDIA) capacity and capability to manage and operate drainage infrastructure assets and apply flood risk management principles in the planning of new developments. 

The project marks the latest and the second largest investment to date being financed through the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) established by the Government in keeping with the the Guyana-Norway partnership under the original Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). 

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