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Final cost of conservancy relief canal still unknown
…will be determined based on study by engineers – Persaud
By Gary Eleazar
The final cost of the construction of the Hope Conservancy Relief Canal will have to be determined following the technical study to determine the design.
This is according to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud who, when it came to the scrutiny of his Ministry’s allocations, was by far the most impressive, in that he defended it without the aid of a plethora of assistants as was the case with the other government ministers.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud
Persaud was aided only by a document, and for the most part answered without even having to refer to that document.
Among the first in the barrage of queries that he had to fend off was the increase in allocation for transportation, as well as a 35 per cent increase for electricity charges.
According to Persaud, in 2009 there would be increased monitoring and support staff in the outlying regions, whilst the significant increase in electricity was as a result of a debt to the power company that will be paid off this year.
But the most critical question which Persaud had to fend off was the two-billion dollar allocation for the construction of the Conservancy Relief Canal which is expected to be constructed at Hope on the East Coast of Demerara.
According to the Shadow Finance Minister, Winston Murray, there has been a lot of buzz about whether the canal should even be placed at Hope, and he therefore sought to find out what was the basis for that location when a previous study by international engineers had suggested Nabaclis or Shanklands.
According to Persaud, based on socioeconomic studies among others, the Hope area was identified, and a contract will soon be awarded for technical studies on what transpires next.
Persaud pointed out that locations identified by the previous study merely made suggestions, and further analysis of those suggestions pointed to the fact that they may not be the most feasible locations as it relates to cost, given that several persons would have to be relocated and drainage capacity increased.
“Hope is in the centre of the two suggested points,” he said.
After a number of queries on cost effectiveness on all three locations so that a more informed decision could be made, Persaud told the House that “based on what we have at this time, we are proceeding and the final cost will be based on the design.”
Winston Murray
When asked whether the same amount of money should be invested into the technical studies of all three locations, Persaud emphasised that the previous study did not rule out the use of anywhere in between the two suggested locations.
Among some of the other areas of scrutiny of the Agriculture Ministry’s allocations was the fact that there was provision to replace the drainage pump at Kitty and rehabilitate the one at Liliendaal.
A dredge will also be purchased for the sole purpose of the continuous dredging of the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary Rivers.
There was also mention of the resuscitation of the cane-farming committee, while some $12.5M has been approved for the Climate Change unit, and another $6M will be used for the setting up of Information Technology centres for farmers.
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