GWI to expend over $8B on seven new water treatment plants

A sum of $8.5 billion will be spent to construct seven new water treatment facilities along the coast, as part of plans by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to improve the quality of water consumers receive.

Three contracts for the construction of these seven plants were inked on Thursday at GWI’s Georgetown head office.

Sigma Engineering Limited, a Bangladeshi company; Toshiba Water Solution pvt Limited, an Indian company; and Hi-PRO ecologicos SA, a Mexican company will be constructing the treatment plants.

GWI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shaik Baksh on Thursday said that about 52 per cent of the residents living in coastal communities have access to treated water.

He posited, “There is a crying need for treated water.”

As such, GWI will be establishing new water treatment plants and upgrading existing facilities to guarantee that about 90 per cent of the residents on the coast have access to treated water by 2025.

“181, 000 persons will be benefiting from these new projects here.

“By the end of this project, we should have 90 per cent coverage,” Baksh assured members of the public.

These new plants will be established at Onderneeming (Region Two); Parika, Wales and Lust-en-Rust (Region Three) and Caledonia, Cumming Lodge and Bachelor’s Adventure (Region Four).

Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal said that these new plants are in keeping with government’s plan to improve water supply and the quality of water consumers receive.

They are also being constructed to coincide with the ongoing housing drive.

With the urgent need for improved water supply, particularly with the new housing schemes being developed, the contractors were charged to complete the projects at soonest.

Beyond these water treatment plants, the government is spending a total of $30 billion to improve the overall water treatment infrastructure locally.