RESIDENTS of Devonshire Castle on the Essequibo Coast are loud in praise and thankful to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government and the European Union (EU) for the construction of the new rip/rap sea defence to protect the village and several thousand acres of rice and other cultivated lands from the roaring Atlantic Ocean.
The beneficiaries said the Government and the EU spent millions of dollars to construct the wall with tons of boulders and sand and the completion of the project points to another dream fulfilled under good management.
The rip/rap design structure has replaced a very old eroded concrete type that was built many years ago and which villagers were afraid would have collapsed under extreme high tide and wash them away.
The project, which took several months to be completed, was successfully executed by B.K. International.
The entire earthen sea dam was also rebuilt with several thousand tons of earth and B.K. also did repairs to several sections of the existing seawall at Devonshire Castle, Hampton Court and Walton Hall.
The contractor, on behalf of the Government, also carried out construction work on the Exmouth and Elisa sea defence, where rip/rap seawalls were also erected and the earthen embankment is being rebuilt by work in progress.
Government, over years, has created new sea defences at La Belle Alliance, Richmond, Henrietta, Columbia, Affiance, Taymouth Manor, Capoey, Zorg, Johanna Cecelia, Good Hope and other places to protect residential and farming areas on the coastland.
The EU has made grants to execute the works, in collaboration with the government, on some of the projects.