Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) is set to drill 14 new wells in Region Three (Essequibo Islands – West Demerara) to provide water for expanding communities there.
GWI Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh made the announcement during the opening of the utility’s water refilling station at Vergenoegen on Sunday. According to Baksh, the wells will target new housing areas developed by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
“For the new housing areas at Meten-Meer-Zorg, De Kinderen, Leonora, Stewartville and in other parts of the country on the East Coast corridor, we have nearly 80 new housing developments and we have to get water… we will be drilling, on behalf CH&PA, 14 new wells targeting those areas,” Baksh said.
Baksh said GWI is hoping to begin drilling as early as October or November and said the contractor procurement process is underway.
The new wells will be drilled to support the existing system which cannot extend to adequately serve some of the new developments. He said as the region expands, so too has the demand.
As GWI’s reach in the region continues to grow, it has opened the refilling station, providing purified five-gallon containers for as low as $100. Other stations have already been opened in Region Two, Region Six and Pouderoyen in Region 3. Additional stations will be opened at Bartica, Region Seven and Linden, Region Ten.
Importantly, Baksh said GWI is providing 85 per cent treated water in the region and acknowledged that some areas are still affected. He assured residents that GWI is working to meet the 100 per cent target and disclosed that a new well is currently being drilled at Vergenoegen and another 10 are being drilled at hinterland communities as GWI seeks to strengthen water supplies amid concerns over dry conditions.
The planned well development forms part of broader investments to expand Region Three’s water infrastructure.
GWI is also planning a major surface-water treatment plant at the back of Stewartville. It will draw water from the Boerasirie Conservancy and supply communities along the West Coast corridor. Baksh said construction of that facility is expected to take about two years.
The developments come as GWI seeks to respond to the growing demand for water created by new housing developments across the country.
Source: NEW ROOMS SITE
