GAICO says will resume dredging of Pomeroon River on Oct. 5

GAICO Construction and General Services says it will recommence dredging of the Pomeroon River on October 5, after securing a dredge that can operate in a  very shallow draft environment.

The company had in April 2022 secured a $569 million contract from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) for the dredging of the mouth of the Pomeroon River.

In a statement, the company said a substantial amount of work was done last year using excavators on a barge up to the Waini River mouth.

“But due to the shallow draft that was there prior to us commencing dredging, the Hopper Dredge was unable to be used on this project,” the company stated.

It added: “As a consequence, we had to change our dredging strategy to utilize a Cutter Head Dredge which can operate in a very shallow draft environment.”

The company said its cutter head dredge was on a major job and will be demobilised this week and moved to the Pomeroon.