$150M city’s emergency drainage project nears completion

Oct 07, 2017 News

A team from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) is wrapping up the final stage of emergency drainage works, in the vicinity of Main and New Market Streets.

A team cleaning the drain at Main and New Market Streets.

Community Coordinator, Neilson McKenzie explained to the Department of Public Information (DPI) that in preparation for last May/June rains, the government had approved $150M for rehabilitative works to the drainage and irrigation channels in and around Georgetown.
He added that seven broad areas were identified for the drainage works to be carried out and the section between Church and Main Streets was one of those areas.
“It is a busy and thoroughly congested commercial block that was prone to flood and hadn’t any drainage works done in years. This phase has a two-part approach; one is the cleaning and desilting of roadside drains which is currently ongoing and the second one is some underground works on culverts generally. It involves desilting of the entire underground system and will run simultaneously with the first phase,” McKenzie explained.
The drainage works, which will make the area almost flood free, commenced on October 1 and continues for the next six weeks.
McKenzie pointed out that regular maintenance will be undertaken.
“We want to ensure that the input made will be effective and to have that made effective, it means the initial work has to be followed up with a maintenance phase. So we’re putting together a maintenance package which will support the initial

Community Coordinator, Neilson McKenzie

work that was done,” the Community Coordinator said.
The team of workers has one supervisor and 12 staff who work just over six hours daily. Contractor, Joseph Williams explained that the scope of works includes weeding and clearing of the parapets, cleaning of drains and the bridges, clearing of the tunnels and proper disposal of the debris.
“It’s long now I doing this work but I am happy to be working for government and clearing up the area, at the end of the day, the aim is to alleviate flooding in the area,” Williams said.
The project initially began in South Ruimveldt where remedial works are still ongoing, then expanded to include areas such as North Ruimveldt, Albouystown, and Queenstown.
According to McKenzie, no additional funding will be used to execute the works.

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