$446.8M Adventure Pump Station commissioned
The drainage and irrigation (D&I) system and food production capacity of Region Six will be strengthened following the commissioning of a new $446.8 million pump station on Saturday at Adventure Village along the Corentyne Coast.
Constructed by D. Sawh Mechanical Workshop, the pump station will benefit over 6,000 acres of residential and farmlands and will further support all the major outfalls in areas including Eversham and Number 43 Villages.
It features two 150 cusec pumps designed to drain 126,000 gallons per minute, bringing significant relief to farmers and residents from Black Bush Polder and other areas.
The contract for the construction of the pumping facility was awarded in October 2021.
A $26.4 million consultancy contract was awarded to SRKN Engineering to supervise the construction of the pumping facility.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha underscored that the government is injecting the relevant investments to build climate-resilient D&I infrastructure nationwide.
“This is an investment for the future of our country. By the end of next year, we will be building approximately 19 of these projects across the country. Right here, in Region Six, we have one at Anchorville, Letter Kenny and another one will be awarded shortly at Chesney in the Albion area. In this catchment area, you have five pump stations. The investments we are making in these projects are tremendous,” he said.
A national programme is currently ongoing countrywide to improve Guyana’s D&I infrastructure, which includes the construction and rehabilitation of pump stations and sluices and the clearing of canals and outfalls.
The minister remains optimistic that the region will have 24-hour drainage to the Atlantic Ocean rather than the farming area when construction is completed on the embankments from No. 67 village to Canje and the two high-level, Hope-like canals.
Further, 10 sluices will be rehabilitated in the region.
“That is why we are putting all these pumps and other mechanisms in place. By the end of this year or early next year, we will be procuring another 40 pumps which we will put in different parts of the country to complement the system that we have now…In order for our farmers to benefit more effectively, we have to make those investments,” Minister Mustapha
This, he emphasised, will boost Guyana’s and by extension the region’s food production drive.
Director-General of the Ministry, Madanlall Ramraj, Regional Vice Chairman, Zamal Hussain and Chairman of NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth also spoke at the ceremony.