US$10M works for aged Georgetown Sewerage

Oct 16, 2012 News

Massive works are expected to commence on the Georgetown sewerage system in a matter of weeks effectively signalling progress for the Georgetown Sanitisation Improvement project.
The project, which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the tune of US$10 M, is set to have a duration of 30 months, with an 18-month execution and a 12-month defect liability period.
A financing agreement between the Government and the IDB was inked on December 8, 2010.
With S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Contracting Services along with Nabi and Sons Limited as the Contracting Firms, the project is geared at improving the state of the near century-old sewerage system with a view of providing an improved sewage service to approximately 52,000 people in the capital city of Georgetown. The project is also aimed at helping to eliminate the transmission of neglected tropical diseases around the city as well, a move which will be undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, according to Guyana Water Incorporated’s (GWI) Director of Capital Investment and Planning, Ramchand Jailall.
The significance of the project was amplified, yesterday, when the GWI spearheaded a stakeholder consultation at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street, Georgetown.

A section of the stakeholders at the Consultation forum yesterday

Recently appointed Chief Executive, Shaik Baksh, said that it is necessary to engage with stakeholders, businesses and customers of GWI to ensure that they are all on board. He alluded to the inevitability of inconveniences during the course of the project which will include the laying of pipelines and other activities.
“We want to ensure that on a continuous basis stakeholders are apprised. This is just the beginning because we will be continuously communicating progress on the project so that it is a smooth project with very few ripples.”
In order to appease concerns that may arise, Baksh said that GWI has sought to put in place a dedicated telephone hotline so that any problems customers may encounter could be relayed and immediately addressed.
Stakeholders were also privy to a listing of all the streets, about 25, that will be affected by the project works, a state of affairs which echoed the need for collaboration thus the need for the stakeholder forum, Baksh said.
“This is the Capital City and we know what can happen when different sections of the city come under the project and the lines are being dug up for replacement purposes,” he added.
A detailed video of the rehabilitation programme can be accessed on YouTube and according to Baksh “we will be monitoring what is taking place with this project over the next 18 months. We do have a consultancy firm (GITEC Consult in association with E&A Consultants INC.) that will be supervising the contractor.
We will be having regular meetings apart from our own site visits to ensure that the project is moving within its completion time,” said Baksh as he referred to the project as an important development for the city.
Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, disclosed that it was no easy task to bring the rehabilitation plans together since according to him “there is no blueprint, there is no underground map, there is no structure drawing and there is no base document from which they are working.”
Compounding the initial dilemma was the fact that a lot of the institutional knowledge in relation to the sewerage system has been lost, Ali opined.
In this regard, he said that the development of the sewerage system fell into a strategic plan of GWI which saw a number of consultations being engaged, even as he emphasised the importance of collaboration.
He too highlighted the importance of collaboration with stakeholders. “We would remain committed to the engagement necessary for the successful project implementation and delivery.”
The rehabilitative works, according to GWI’s Acting Project Manager, Orin Browne, will consist of rehabilitation of the sewerage system, including completion of pumping stations refurbishment.
Works will also entail the complete reconstruction of the entire hydraulic main (approximately 6km); the complete reconstruction of all delivery main (approximately 6km); construction of reinforced concrete chambers where the hydraulic main connects to the delivery mains and the construction of reinforced concrete washout chambers at each trench crossings.
The proposed project aims to improve the operational performance of the Georgetown sewerage system through the reconstruction of its most critical components, including the complete replacement of the 5.5 Km sewerage ring main.
It is also intended to strengthen GWI’s operational and financial performance by improving asset management and decreasing energy consumption.
The works, once completed will also limit the transmission of the water-related diseases lymphatic filariasis and intestinal helminthiasis, through Mass Drug Administration activities according to Browne.
According to Director Jailall, the planning for the project was kicked into motion after Hydea Consulting, a firm in Italy, undertook pilot and condition assessments and provided a detailed model of the sewerage system.
It was from this undertaking the Director said that a master plan was done to facilitate priority works for the rehabilitation of the system. Jailall disclosed too that additional works will be done in subsequent years through the investigative works that have to be done under the priority works contract.
This, according to him, will entail the visiting of different zones with a view of examining streets and yard sewers to determine their condition.
Yesterday’s forum saw the attendance of representatives from a number of organisations including New Thriving Restaurant, the Environmental Protection Agency, Laparkan, , KFC, the Local Government Ministry, Hotel Tower, UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organisation.