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$150M approved to prepare G/Town for May/June rains
The government will be expending some $150M to facilitate rehabilitative works to the drainage and irrigation channels in and around Georgetown, ahead of the seasonal rains.
Government will be expending some $150M to facilitate rehabilitative works to the drainage and irrigation channels in and around Georgetown.
This was according to the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, during the weekly post-Cabinet Press Briefings held at the Ministry of the Presidency last Thursday.
Millions of dollars are being lost every year due to floods in the capital city and its environs.
Despite mammoth funding that was plugged into the city on a few occasions by the former regime – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – residents and businesses were still plagued by deluges which often result in Georgetown being inundated.
Harmon said on Thursday, that that the funds were approved by Cabinet for works including the de-silting of Sussex Street drains; the de-silting of the drain and culverts along the Railway Embankment from Sheriff Street on the west to the Pump Station on the east; the clearing of six culverts that connect the North Ruimveldt and South Ruimveldt drainage systems; clearing of siphons and attendant drains in the Plum Park Sophia area; repairs to the Meadow Bank sluice and clearing of the Meadowbrook channel inlet; repairs to sluices at Agricola, Rome and Lamaha Street; the clearing of the inlet channels; and the clearing of drains in the Newtown area.
The drainage process will now be more efficiently able to allow possible flood waters to be drained from across the city in a timely manner, Minister Harmon explained. These works are expected to commence immediately.
Minister Harmon further noted that this is the first of a series of actions taken by a recently established task force which will oversee the rehabilitation of drainage systems in the capital city.
Additionally, the task force will “execute plans in the short, medium and long-term to prevent flooding of the city in times of heavy rainfall in the future,” the Minister of State concluded.
The drainage and irrigation programme is factored into the Hydrometerological services’ budget of the Ministry of Agriculture of approximately $603M. The establishment of the task force was made during a Cabinet meeting earlier in January. The task force comprises representatives from the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, the Ministries of Agriculture, and Public Infrastructure and the NDIA.
The work of the task force will be guided by the recommendations presented by the team of Dutch engineers which will be used in finding effective drainage solutions for Georgetown.
The team would have visited last year and presented a report illustrating a model of an effective and efficient drainage system for the city of Georgetown to the Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson.
Further, the areas slated to be serviced, were highlighted by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority’s (NDIA) Technical Team during a recent assessment.
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