IN light of the upcoming May-June rainy season, the Ministry of Agriculture has been conducting inspections of its drainage structures to ensure the systems operate to capacity during that period.

And so Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Alli Baksh, Wednesday checked on the new Grove/Diamond sluice which is being constructed at a cost of $45M. The ministry felt the need to prompt the contractor to deliver soon on the project before the rainy season.
Accompanying the minister were Managing Director Pioneer General Contracting Services and Project Consultant, Ceon McGregor, Project Supervisor, Laurie Adams and the Project Consultant, E&A Consultancy Charandat Ghansham.
Pioneer General Contracting Service is constructing the sluice, which will cater for the growing Grove/Diamond population. It also replaces an older and smaller structure which was found to be incapable of handling the inundation experienced in the areas during the rainy periods.
“As you look on the eastern-side of the area, you will see the huge housing scheme that is going up, more drainage area… aback of that also you have the agriculture area, so it is a huge catchment area and when the rain falls you find that the water would rise very quickly.”
He said, “We observed that, and recognising also that the sea sluice that was here for decades now, was old and much too small, we used to complement it with a pump, but that in itself could not have assisted the kind of drainage that is necessary in the area, so we started constructing this new sluice, and regrettably we are behind time and that is why I am here to have a word with the contractor,” Minister Baksh said.
The sluice is 50 percent completed, and the contractor promised the minister to deliver the project by April. Minister Baksh in turn, advised that the contractor employ more labour and work longer hours to ensure the delivery of the project.
Project Supervisor, Laurie Adams attributed the difficulty in sourcing stones as the main reason for the delay. He also blamed the site and said it is a very difficult area to work in. “It has mud that when you excavate and leave it overnight the mud pumps up and you have to excavate again,” he said. “These two factors, coupled with some bad weather, caused the delay”, he said.
At present, the door of the sluice, the lifting device and the revetment to protect the structure are to be done.