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Minister explains Hope Canal operation
There are several aspects that are yet to be completed before the Northern Relief Channel at Hope/Dochfour East Coast Demerara could become operational.
Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said that some of these include maintaining that the project is on track to meet its latest extended deadline of June.
Agriculture Minister,
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
According to Dr. Ramsammy, the Head Regulator aspect, which is being constructed by BK International, is about 95 percent completed.
He said that there is a state of the art wrench that has to be installed, but this gear has not yet arrived.
Dr. Ramsammy noted that since the completion of this component was dependent on a delayed aspect of the overall project, the Agriculture Ministry made some modifications.
This includes an adjustment to the system originally intended to open the doors of the Head Regulator.
The new system, for which the wrench is required, will allow for easier open and closure of the door.
“The wrench should be here anytime now. That was purchased by us (the Ministry), and the contractor is waiting on it, so when that comes, we will deliver it to him. It was take just about a day to have this installed,” the Minister said.
Heading out from the conservancy onto the East Coast Demerara Public Road, the dams have already been shaped and the berms (the flat strip of land bordering a river or canal) are approximately 70 percent complete.
Dr. Ramsammy said that 90 percent of the work on the Canal is already done. Once operational, excess water will flow from the Head Regulator and into the canal where it will travel out to the public road, under the recently completed Bridge at Hope village, to be discharged into the Atlantic Ocean via the eight-gated sluice. The sluice is being constructed by Courtney Benn Construction.
This structure has been the delayed aspect of the $3.6B project. After about three years, less than 80 percent of the required works have been completed.
According to Dr. Ramsammy, works on this structure are currently moving apace. He noted however that his Ministry halted construction for several days, to facilitate testing of the concrete.
“We brought in an international firm to test the concrete structure to ensure that it was strong enough, but that’s done and they resumed work about a week ago.”
Construction of the Hope/Dochfour Northern Relief Channel was undertaken by former Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, who estimated an 18-month completion period, when construction commenced in February 2011.
Late last year Dr. Ramsammy, in his capacity as Agriculture Minister, announced an extended completion date – June 2013. This was subsequently extended to August 31, and later to December 2013. It has been regarded as one of the largest infrastructure initiatives in Guyana’s history. So far, Dr. Ramsammy has insisted that the project will not go beyond its original cost.
It has been purported that the relief channel would have the capacity to withstand floods greater than that which occurred in 2005.
It is being constructed to ease the pressure of water on the East Demerara Water Conservancy at times when it reaches its maximum capacity, releasing it into the Atlantic Ocean, via the sluice.
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