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US$4M pumps contract…Indian contractor buys major components from US
More than three years after Guyana signed a deal with India-based Surendra Engineering
The pump, supplied by Surendra Engineering, at the new pumping station, Patentia, WBD.
Corporation Limited for 14 large drainage pumps, the second fixed one has been commissioned at Patentia, West Bank Demerara.
The over-budget $265M facility, built by contractor Harrichand Tulsi did not include the cost of the pump. Rather the contract to supply was signed with Surendra since May 2011 for the provision of eight fixed and six mobile pumps for US$4M ($800M).
Government was tasked with constructing the facilities to house the mobile pumps. It is expected that at the end, more than $1B would be spent to build the facilities.
The commissioning of the Patentia pump follows another which was commissioned one month ago at Rose Hall, East Berbice.
On July 1, tenders for the construction of five more pump stations will be opened, says Lionel Wordsworth, Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).
All the pumps are in the country now, he said.
There have been questions over the award to Surendra, a company which was involved in the construction of the $2.5B sugar packaging plant at Enmore, but which had no immediate history in the manufacturing of pumps. For the pump at Patentia, Surendra would have sourced components from Texas and from John Deere, a popular maker of tractors.
During the commissioning of the pump station yesterday, it was disclosed that the construction of the facility moved from $237M to $265M.
Another facility, with a cost of approximately $150M, is currently under construction a few miles away, at Bagotville, an area at the head of Canal Number One.
Wordsworth made it clear that the project is a justifiable one, and would serve over 1,500 acres of farmlands in the Canal Number Two area. With new housing schemes also in the West Bank Demerara area, the need for increased drainage capacity is more than crucial to prevent constant flooding in the area.
It is the plan to use the pump alternately with a sluice that is located nearby.
So far, Government has resuscitated 11 new pump stations across the country as part of a holistic approach to improve drainage. This is in addition to repairs to 10 sluices.
Construction is ongoing to construct facilities for new pumps at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara, Black Bush Polder, East Berbice, and Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast.
The NDIA official said that the weather conditions in the country have changed for the worst. While at one time Guyana was catering for around two inches of rainfall, climate change has seen the levels increasing dramatically, hence the need for a different approach to counter flooding.
The pump, which has the capacity to discharge up to 900 gallons per second, will be managed by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
According to Ali Baksh, Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Government has plugged over $1B in recent times in the West Demerara area to maintain and protect the drainage and irrigation system which feeds large farming areas including rice fields. Emphasis has been placed not only on providing capacity to drain but also in ensuring freer flowing drainage.
Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, noted that the new pump station will provide 24 hours drainage along with the sluice.
Government is also preparing for a significant US$11M project that will shore up the conservancies in the East Demerara and Mahaicony/Abary area.
A major Euro30M project will also be looking at the situation in Berbice with the aim of creating a conservancy for management of drainage and irrigation there.
Government has said that together with the assets of GuySuCo, the country will be boasting a capacity of almost 100 pumps, both fixed and mobile.
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