REGIONAL Engineer of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Kawan Suchit has said that the administration will be establishing a digital database, using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to map out the infrastructure network in the region. During a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Suchit said projects in the agriculture, education, health and public works sectors are progressing well. “So, you can prioritise your work easily by making a click with the software; as long as all the information is inputted correctly, you can do analysis and so on. So, what we are doing is creating this database so that you will have the conditions, year constructed, when last maintained, those type of information that’s needed for budgeting purposes,” the engineer said. He said the programme will also help with maintaining accountability for projects.

This year, some $21,250,000 will be used for the rehabilitation of five bridges at the Lima Housing Scheme; the Jib Mandir Street at Affiance; and the Cheddi Jagan Play Park in Anna Regina, along with the David James Canal.   Another $80 million has been set aside for road works at Sand Line Road, Good Hope; Nursery School Road at Cullen; and the upgrades of Third Street, Affiance; Mandir Street, Cotton Field, and the access road to the Essequibo Technical Institute. In the education sector, the regional engineer said the new Abram Zuil Secondary and Queenstown Nursery Schools will be constructed this year. The Mabel Sandy Nursery School in Wakapoa Creek, in the Lower Pomeroon, which will include a teachers’ quarters, will also be built.

Other works in the region include the construction of a landing at Korimero, Wakapoa; a teacher’s quarters at Mainstay; and a timber revetment at the Zorg Nursery School to reduce erosion there. Meanwhile, in the health sector, upgrades are ongoing at the Suddie Hospital. “Rehabilitation of the PHS diagnostic centre at the front section of the building, mainly focusing on the accident and emergency area where the infrastructure works there had gotten to a stage where the roof was completely deteriorated and leaking, causing discomfort for the patients who were there, because that’s the first area you enter into the hospital, and it wasn’t a nice sight,” Suchit said. He explained that the entire hospital is being redesigned, with specific rehabilitation of the roof, and upgrades to the drainage network. A waiting shed and water filtration system were also constructed at the Oscar Joseph Hospital.
Regional Vice-Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Two, Humace Odit also spoke of ongoing efforts to assist rice and other-crop farmers in the region.

Those efforts include linking the Lima and Lima Sands access roads. A similar access road will be linked to Dredge Creek, which will lead directly to the Dredge Creek School and to lands for farmers. “Our intention is to link up all these rice- farming and cash-crop farming areas so that farmers can have quick access to the farm, as well as to transport the produce to the market, and wherever we have the regular market, to persons who would be doing export,” the Vice-Chairman said.
Revetment works are also being done in several parts of the coast to help curb erosion in those areas, as this could be detrimental to farmers.
The region is also undertaking the construction of several structures that will help manage the water to grow their crops.
“That is a housing area where it can be a shorter way of residents, rice farmers also who can access the rice land very easily, and so we have been developing that road from Lima to Lima Sands with an access bridge over the canal,” he said.