In an effort to upgrade and transform the capital city of Georgetown, the Housing and Water Ministry is working to change all of the outdated pipe systems in several prominent areas around the city.
GWI workers repairing a broken pipe in Georgetown
This was revealed by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal during a recent episode of “The Guyana Dialogue.”
Some of the pipes slated for upgrade are those located in the vicinity of the Bank of Guyana, Umana Yana, and other areas.
“A third thing we will be focusing on in the water sector is to change out some of the old pipe systems that we have here in Georgetown. You know those old pipes that you see on the ground that have leakage. For example, by Bank of Guyana, in front of Umana Yana [and other areas],” the Minister outlined.
According to Croal, if the Government were to increase the water pressure for Georgetown, those pipes would leak given their deteriorating condition.
“If you increase the pressure for Georgetown all of those will start leaking. So, we’re changing out those old pipe systems. We’re hoping that within the next year and a half to two years, we will transform Georgetown. Those are about 200 years’ old pipes we’re speaking about so they can’t really withstand the level of pressure that we will want to put,” the minister explained.
It was previously reported in February 2020 that Guyana Water Inc (GWI) has embarked on a journey to replace the aged water network (pipes) within Georgetown. This saw numerous Georgetown residents suffering interruptions in their water supply caused by breakages in the old pipes.
The breakages were as a result of the aged state of the transmission lines which constitute the Georgetown network, which was installed more than 100 years ago.
In 2019, GWI said the $51 million replacement of the Church Street water transmission line would commence in the first quarter of 2020, and it was expected that the other replacements would follow.
The Government has also been working assiduously to transform the city by upgrading old infrastructure, clearing drains, upgrading markets, expanding the road network, and more. One major project that commenced under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration was the restoration of the historic City Hall Building at an investment of over $1 billion.
