The new $400M Cotton Tree Water Treatment Plant in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice), was yesterday commissioned by President Bharrat Jagdeo, providing improved water services for residents.
The facility was funded jointly by the Government of Guyana and the World Bank , and will provide an improved water supply for over 15,000 residents in West Coast Berbice, from Iverness to Shieldstown.
The project was awarded to the Trinidad-based contractor, UEM Inc, and the supporting distribution works in the project areas were executed by locally based contractors. The project also includes the upgrading of 3000 service connections and the installation of two kilometers of transmission mains.
President Jagdeo, in delivering the feature address, said he is pleased to be at the event, to “share with you this very important moment for the community.”
He said it is important because “we are making progress”, and he noted that the country has to overcome its past of under- development.
He alluded to the huge amount of debt that had been accumulated, and that “today, because we have successfully dealt this issue”, there is more room for development and more of the resources can be spent back on the people.
He said even at the national level, persons have recognised that whilst the rest of the region has continued accumulating debt, Guyana has moved towards sustainability.
“In Berbice, I see a huge future. Right now we have several discussions going about just here,” he said, including a deep water harbour, which can create a number of jobs for the communities.
He said with the Berbice Bridge, there has been a change in the dynamism; and  government has been struggling, in spite of the price cut, to keep the sugar industry alive and to ensure a viable industry.
“So you are going to see major, major developments here,” the Head of State anticipated.
He said the State will continue to invest in the people, in education, health, and water.
He said water is very vital and it is going to be a “big issue for us in the future”.
“The world has predicted that some 85 per cent of the world would have fresh water shortages by 2030.”
“We have a lot of water, but potable water is very costly because we have to purify it to get to people,’ he stated.
“Sometimes we have too much water and sometimes we have too little, like the last drought we had, and the provision of potable water will continue to take a central role in the future.”
“You have to understand that these facilities, as I said before, are not going to come all at once. Poor countries have to grow their way, they have to work hard to get out of poverty and to develop. We are doing this every day,” he said.
He expressed the hope that those whom the new facility will serve will make the best use of it, using it responsibly and not wasting water.
Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali, in his address, said this accomplishment is a result of the “hard work of all of us”, and it is necessary to understand the importance of the investments.
Outlining some of the accomplishments and the plans for the development of the water sector, the minister said the facility is an addition to the infrastructure that already existed.
He made it clear that all the water produced from every single plant across the country is in accordance with health standards.
He said the facility is part of an incremental development, moving the sector a stage forward in accordance with GWI turnaround plan.
He said this year, six water treatment plants will be completed across the country, and the government will ensure that the development is equitable.
Minister Ali assured, “We are indeed very happy to be in this position today to commission this facility, and we look forward to serving you, the people in Region Five, and we are committed to improving  the service we deliver to you.
The tremendous benefit of the treatment plant was also recognised Country Representative of the World Bank, Mr. Giorgio Valentini, and Regional Chairman, Mr. Harrinarine Baldeo, while Project Manager, Capital Investment and Planning, GWI, Mr. Ramchand Jailal, gave an overview of the project.