-more than $978M will be needed for 2024

FROM an era of talks to relocate all of the residents and abandon the island of Leguan, to today injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into sea defence works, authorities are serious about fortifying critical areas along the shoreline – a move that has resulted in a heightened sense of security for those who live there.

Around the 1980s, there were practically no sea defence mechanisms on the island and no hope of improvement in this regard, hence many residents moved away and authorities seriously considered relocating the rest.

Today, though, Regional Chairman Inshan Ayube has observed how sea defence works have been moving apace since 2020 with multiple projects ongoing simultaneously.

“Residents are feeling far more secure. If you can remember (this reporter cannot remember), during the ‘Burnham era,’ Leguan was actually given up…but in 1992, we saw that sea defence projects were re-established and then there were ongoing projects,” Ayube reflected in an interview with Guyana Chronicle on Sunday.

In 2015 to 2019, minimal works were going on but from 2020 to date, several projects have once again been ongoing which give farmers and residents confidence to venture into business, construction, and other developmental undertakings.

“Foreigners are also coming back to build houses in Leguan. This is due to the confidence in the government and the continuous sea defence works, because that was an issue – how we can secure the sea defences. As Regional Chairman, I could not have asked for better, and I would like to compliment the Public Works minister and all his engineers,” he added.

Meanwhile, for 2023, under Capital Works, over $511 million in sea defence works were tendered, awarded and are currently under execution. There were four major projects with all having advanced to a state in which they are nearing completion. As for maintenance works, more than $146 million in contracts were awarded as of June 2023.

Based on the island’s indicative budget for 2024, the local authorities are requesting more than $978 million for future sea defence works.

Most of these works are being done along the north-eastern shores towards the Atlantic. Some of the projects are the construction of rip rap sea defence at Uniform, Cane Garden, Okum/Retrieve and Belfield.

“Most of the projects are in areas that are critical in the sense that hadn’t these works been tendered; we could have had breaches which would have led to damage to crops and livestock and flooding to residential areas. So these are heavily impacted areas which we are now trying to fortify,” District Engineer in charge of Leguan Island, Sea Defences, Seenarine Nandram, told this publication.

According to him, there has been much advancement in sea defence works on the island, with government placing significant emphasis on such, as can be seen in the substantial increases in budgetary allocations for the island.

“Come next year, or come the next spring tide, it’s exposing more vulnerability; more areas we are seeing overtopping because of global warming predominantly. It’s basically us trying to play a catch-up game,” Nandram shared.

Apart from Leguan, sea defence projects are ongoing in the entire Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), along the coast for example, and on various islands in the Essequibo River.