Major road rehab for Tumatumari/El Paso
— contract out for tender next week
DPI, Guyana, Friday, August 2, 2019
El Paso, Micobie, and Tumatumari residents will soon benefit from major rehabilitative works on their access roads.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, Hon. David Patterson made this announcement during a community meeting at El Paso, Region 8.
“The good news is that the regional engineer just informed me that the tender for that road goes out next week under our maintenance budget,” Minister Patterson said.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, Hon. David Patterson engaging a student of El Paso Primary School
The contract for the maintenance of the five-mile stretch of road is expected to take about three weeks to go through the tender process before a contract can be officially rewarded for work to begin.
The road will be extended from the Brian Sucre Junction in Mahdia for three miles and includes another two miles of rehabilitative works from the Micobie junction to El Paso.
The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is also partnering with the ministry to carry out the rehabilitation of the road. The maintenance contract is expected to provide better access to several villages in the Potaro-Siparuni Region.
Addressing the residents, Minister Patterson also engaged them on matters relating to electricity and their water woes. He also spoke of other projects to benefit the residents, including the Tumatumari Hydropower plant.
The Tumatumari Hydropower Station was the first hydropower station to be constructed on the Potaro River. The plant was constructed in 1957 by the British Goldfields Limited and operated until 1959 when mining operations ceased. In 1969, the then government re-commissioned the station where the power was transmitted to serve the Guyana National Service camps at Tumatumari and Konawaruk. The development included an embankment dam, a concrete overflow dam, and a two-unit powerhouse with an installed capacity of 1500 kw, using 2 X 750 kw Francis turbines.
The Public Infrastructure Minister assured residents that the government will be actively looking into revamping the hydro backing energy plant that will see electricity transmission throughout Tumatumari/El Paso and Mahdia.
El Paso is a village in the Potaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana, to the west of Tumatumari Landing. There are approximately 40 households in this village.