–authorities mull establishment of disaster-response facilities in every region
IN a bid to enhance Guyana’s capacity to respond to natural disasters, the government has invested $117 million for the construction of a new multi-purpose building at the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) Headquarters at Thomas Lands, Georgetown.
Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, in his address at a simple contract signing ceremony, said that this type of investment is necessary to improve the efficiency the CDC.
The new 6,400 square feet facility comprise an administrative office space, a bond and warehouse, and other response facilities which will be used to store and pack relief items.
The Prime Minister noted that the CDC must have a central and easily accessible site to store necessary disaster-relief equipment and other materials that would benefit persons across the country who might be affected by a natural disaster.
“Seeing that we just use a lot of facilities that don’t belong to the CDC [for storage], we recognise that the priority project will be to have this bond constructed right here, close to the office complex, and close to the operations centre of CDC. Now that is what led to us undertaking this $117.8 million project,” Prime Minster Phillips said.
The project which is expected to commence soon has an estimated completion timeframe of just 24 months.
The contract for this project was awarded to Avinash Contracting and Scrap Metal Incorporated while Innovative Engineering Consultancy Services has been tasked with supervising the project to ensure all financial deadlines are met.
Prime Minister Phillips said that the government has been investing heavily to equip the CDC to cater to natural disasters across the country. He reminded that a previous administration of the PPP/C government had invested heavily in the establishment of a similar CDC multi-purpose facility at Timehri.
That facility continues to be utilised as a storage area for major items that are distributed by the CDC during various outreaches.
The government had also commissioned a $112 million multi-purpose building at Lethem in Region Nine.
“These extensive facilities are important investments in effectively managing natural disasters in Guyana; they are designed to facilitate from bond space to office space, operations centres, and an area for the comfort of the staff. So, there is a comprehensive approach to disaster management by government in the area of disaster management,” Prime Minister Phillips said.
The plan, as outlined by the Prime Minister, is to have CDC facilities in every region across Guyana in order to provide easy and efficient disaster-relief response where it is a need.
Director-General (ag) of the CDC, Major Loring Benons, echoed the Prime Minister’s sentiments, noting that in the past, there was some difficulty facilitating the storage and packaging of necessary resources that would be distributed to bring relief to disaster-struck citizens.
He noted that the government’s investment into this new facility is “timely” and will allow for the improved functioning of the CDC.
“The signing of this contract, therefore would not only allow for the centralisation of storage once upon completion. It is expected to facilitate easy loading and offloading of to provide adequate space for packing of hampers and convenient access for the staff and general public during emergency response activities for the delivery, packing and uplifting of relief provision,” Major Benons said.
