–as GWI awards $6B in contracts to upgrade water-treatment plants

The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), on Wednesday, awarded contracts for the upgrade of 12 existing water-treatment plants, slated to benefit 60,000 persons.

The contract-signing ceremony between the utility and contractors occurred at GWI’s Headquarters on Vlissengen Road.

The upgrading of these plants forms part of GWI’s Coastal Water Treatment Infrastructure Programme, which has an implementation timeline of 2021-2025. The total sum of these contracts is just under G$6 billion.

Addressing the contractors and GWI officials, Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh said the company is moving aggressively to provide treated water across the coastal belt of Guyana.

He said that the government’s mandate for GWI is ambitious and comprehensive, which the company is on track to achieving.

In addition to water treatment, the CEO highlighted that works are moving apace towards 99 per cent potable water access countrywide, targeting unserved areas and new housing developments.

He noted that the primary concern along the coast is high iron content, and the programme is designed to address that.

“Along the East Bank corridor, where there’s a huge housing development, we have been able to restore, to major communities, treated water. They have been deprived of treated water for over six years from 2015 to last year.”

The CEO pointed out that the Grove, Covent Garden and Eccles water-treatment plants are now receiving an improved quality of water and residents are pleased. While this is so, further upgrades will still be done to these plants as part of the contracts signed on Wednesday.

Baksh urged the contractors to put in good-quality work in a timely manner, as GWI will be developing a quality-control programme to monitor such projects.

Supervision of these contracts will be done by GWI engineers, as the company continues to strengthen its in-house capacity.

The plants identified for rehabilitation are located at Friendship, Mon Repos, Better Hope, ECD; Grove, Covent Garden, Eccles, EBD; Fellowship, Pouderoyen and Vergenoegen, Region 3 and New Amsterdam, Port Mourant, Cotton Tree, Region Six. Upgrades and extension of transmission and distribution mains will complement the rehabilitation works to expand treated-water boundaries to an additional 60,000 persons.

These works are scheduled to be completed by 2025.

The companies awarded contracts are Compass Engineering, H. Nauth & Sons, D&R Construction, Dax Engineering, International Import & Supplies, Singh & Sons, S. Jagmohan & Co. and Toshiba Water Solutions Inc.

Another component of the Coastal Water Treatment Infrastructure Programme is the installation of 10 new in-line filters, which GWI intends to advertise for bids in early 2023. This method of treatment is a new approach to Guyana and as a result, a pilot will be conducted with two inline filters to test the efficacy of this system in remote locations.

One month ago, GWI signed contracts to the tune of G$8.5 billion for the construction of seven new water- treatment plants at Onderneeming in Region Two, Parika, Wales and Lust en Rust in Region Three, Caledonia, Cummings Lodge and Bachelor’s Adventure in Region Four.

These plants will serve more than 100,000 people and also come under the Coastal Water Treatment Infrastructure Programme.