Georgetown: The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lionel Wordsworth has disclosed that state-of-the-art high capacity pump station at Lima, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), will be commissioned within the next eight months.
Wordsworth made this disclosure while inspecting the multimillion-dollar project recently. At the time, he was accompanied by Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Baksh and NDIA Engineer, Jafaun Permansingh.
Wordsworth said he is satisfied with the pace at which the projecting is progressing, although it is still in its initial stage.
“The footprint of the project is presently being carved, orientation has been completed and test piles were also driven,” the NDIA CEO said as he alluded to aspects of the project completed thus far.
When commissioned, Wordsworth said, the facility would be the largest pump station in Region Two that has the capacity to pump 200 cubic feet per second, an optimum of 89,000 gallons of water per minute. This, he said, will bring great relief to persons living within the Coffee Grove to Hampton Court environs.
He explained that the system will be very reliable, and will drain water off the land easily. Even as the pump station is being erected, Wordsworth noted that all of the pumps on the Essequibo Coast are operational.
The CEO noted that NDIA has embarked on a massive drive to improve all the drainage systems within the country, noting too that new systems will also be installed. It was pointed out that over $1.5 billion has been expended to enhance drainage and irrigation throughout Guyana.
Seven more similar projects have commenced in various areas across Guyana. Establishment of pump stations as well as installation of pumps is presently being done at La Grange, Canje, Black Bush Polder and Number 43 Village in Berbice.
Meanwhile, Minister Baksh said that residents and farmers will benefit significantly from the multimillion-dollar high capacity pump station. Baksh noted that the pump will serve over 3000 acres of rice lands and 1000 acres of other crops from La Belle Alliance to Coffee Grove area.
He further explained that the establishment and installation of the pump is a promise made to farmers and residents during the flooding in 2014. Baksh said he is happy that today the promise is coming to a reality. In the past, the pump at Lima was constantly clogged with sling mud, preventing the flow of water resulting in flooding.
The project is a collaborative effort between the Agriculture Ministry and the NDIA. The contract was awarded to Samaroo’s Investment from Hampton Court.
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