US$3.5M to rehabilitate Shelterbelt water treatment plant

Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has signed a US$3.5 million agreement with Mexican company, Hi-Pro Ecologicos for commencement of the rehabilitation and expansion of the Water Treatment Plant at Shelterbelt in Georgetown.
The project is one component under GWI’s Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure Improvement Programme. The entire project, which includes three water treatment plants at Utivlugt, West Coast Demerara; Diamond, East Bank Demerara; and Sheet Anchor, Berbice; is being funded with a US$16.8 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank and a 10.6 million Euro grant from the

Caribbean Investment Facility (CIF) of the European Union.
Hi-Pro Ecologicos representative, Luis Fabela, signed the agreement at Shelterbelt on Friday.
GWI’s Managing Director, Dr Richard Van West-Charles said the project is aimed at improving the water quality and making the system more efficient, while reducing operating costs. He noted that the current network in the City is over a century old and requires rehabilitation until a complete overhaul can be done.
“It (the project) will overhaul the entire chemical mixing and dosing systems for alum lime and chlorine and this is because 60 per cent of the water to the citizens of Georgetown comes from surface water. It comes from the Lamaha Canal; it comes from the (East Demerara Water) Conservancy. It is going to be looking at the insulation of sludge extractors for the flocculators, valves for the better treatment of the surface water,” he said.
Additionally, Dr Van West-Charles said the filter systems were neglected for a very long time thus reducing the quality of water. He further explained that now the water quality is on par with the World Health Organisation’s requirements, adding that he drinks tap water “all the time.”
“The other issue is installation of water quality monitoring system. Presently we didn’t wait for the project, now the water is monitored on an hourly basis 24/7 and that is why we can boast on the quality of water coming here. We know water is life but it requires a sound infrastructure in the lines, the distribution network we have to be looking at that. We want to get to the point where the black tanks that dots the landscape would be reduced significantly and at the same time ensure that citizens have got the requisite information for them to be able to maintain their black tanks,” he said.
“This project will support and bolster the strategies that we have embarked on and we can definitely witness the completion of the project with a significant impact for the citizens of Georgetown,” Dr Van West-Charles added.
He further stated that for the utility company to overhaul the main distribution network in the city, it would cost US$60 million but guaranteed that the current distribution network provides safe drinking water.
Representing the Mexico-based company Hi-Pro Ecologicos was Luis Fabela who expressed his gratitude and promised to deliver before the deadline. The project commences immediately with a deadline of October 2019.