$1B contract inked for construction of pump station at Craig  

To mitigate flooding in many farming areas while increasing food productivity, residents along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) corridor will soon benefit from the construction of a pump station at Craig.
The contract was signed on Friday to the tune of $1 billion.  The disclosure was made by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during the commissioning of a dredge at Little Diamond sluice, EBD.
“I went to Craig since the entire East Bank said that they had to wait for tidal drainage, as they needed 24-hour drainage. The drainage capacity needed to improve. When we were planning our budget for this year, we put in our budget to build a brand-new pumping station on the East Bank of Demerara. And that is about $1 billion. This shows how we are responding to the needs of our people,” Mustapha relayed.
As part of Guyana’s food security aim, farmers countrywide continue to benefit from the construction and maintenance of new and existing drainage systems, and farm-to-market roads, among other interventions.
The Minister further explained that “Over the last three years, we have purchased and fixed 28 new pumps across this country. That is a monumental achievement for us. We have nine pump stations being built across our country.”
The Minister noted that flooding has been mitigated tremendously in the Diamond area.
Recently, for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to execute rehabilitation works on existing drainage systems in Region Two, an additional $2.5 billion in funding was approved.