Minister Alli Baksh inspects construction work on $191.5M Lima pump station –project to be completed in seven months
CEO of NDIA, Mr Lionel Wordsworth giving an explanation to Minister Alli Baksh about construction work on the Lima pump station project.
CEO of NDIA, Mr Lionel Wordsworth giving an explanation to Minister Alli Baksh about construction work on the Lima pump station project.

MINISTER within the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Alli Baksh accompanied by the CEO of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Mr Lionel Wordsworth recently inspected construction work on the $191.5M Lima pump station on the Essequibo Coast.According to the Minister, the PPP/C Government is delivering on its promise made to residents and farmers that a huge pump will be set permanently near the sea dam embankment at Lima to improve drainage in residential and farming areas.

Work in progress to excavate the area for the foundation to be constructed for the huge pump at Lima
Work in progress to excavate the area for the foundation to be constructed for the huge pump at Lima

The Minister pointed out that the huge project will provide efficient drainage to some 3,000 acres of rice land and other crops between La Belle Alliance and Coffee Grove and residential areas including housing schemes.
Minister Baksh said the new pump station will bring a lot of ease to farmers who in the past complained about drainage problems.
He explained that the pump which has a discharge capacity of 200 cubic feet of water per second or 89,000 gallons per minute will also clear sling mud that causes blockage of the Lima sluice channel by the constant accession problems on the foreshore.
Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA, Mr Lionel Wordsworth said the project is now in its startup stages and a fulltime engineer from the NDIA is on site monitoring the ongoing excavation work of the area where the foundation for the huge pump will be constructed.
The CEO said the Government is also currently preparing four other sites across the country for the installation of huge pumps like the one that will be installed at Lima.
He said all are at startup stages. Mr Wordsworth said materials are available for construction of the pump stations locally but some will still have to be imported.
The CEO said the contractor of the Lima project, Mr Doodnauth Samaroo, will have to continue working efficiently to have the project completed within the seven month contracted period.
He said the contractor has already built the coffer dam to facilitate the excavating of earth to the required ground level so piles can be driven. The test piles were already driven which will be followed by bearing piles to ensure maximum hydraulic performance.

 Piles tarred and ready to be driven into the earth for the foundation of the pump at Lima
Piles tarred and ready to be driven into the earth for the foundation of the pump at Lima

Mr Wordsworth said the pump which will have a discharge of 200 cubic feet per second will be the single largest drainage pump on the Essequibo Coast.
He said Region 3 will have two similar pumps, one at Windsor Forest and another at Canal No 1. Berbice will also benefit from similar pump stations.
The CEO said the huge pumps were acquired from India under a line of credit. He said while sluices are operated by gravity it is much cheaper and so two sluices will be constructed at La Grange on the West Coast of Demerara and Bagostown on the East Bank Demerara to increase the efficiency of drainage by gravity flow. Some $1.5B is currently being spent for the pumps and sluices to improve drainage across the country, but that does not include the regional budgets, the CEO added. (Rajendra Prabhulall)

 

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