The Public Infrastructure Ministry’s Work Services Group (WSG) Coordinator, Geoffrey Vaughn said capital works under the US$30.9 million sea and river defence resilience project have commenced in some of the targeted areas.
He said that Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) was one such area.
“We have others where maintenance works are being done in East Bank Berbice, particularly where enforcement of embankment is being done. Also in Region Three, we have embankment work being done, so there’s quite a lot of work being done by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, and we intend to continue this,” Vaughn said in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA).
The sea and river defence resilience project is a collaborative effort between the Government of Guyana and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to repair the country’s sea and river defences.
Over 90 per cent of Guyana’s population lives along the coastal area, much of which lies below sea level and is subject to flooding.
“This is the Government’s effort to protect the environment, people, assets, and livelihoods from flooding and contribute to the sustainable economic growth and future socioeconomic development of the country,” Vaughn said.
The project will see construction and rehabilitation works on sea and river defences in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Three; Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) that will benefit 45,000 Guyanese.
