On Saturday, Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha commissioned the Andrews Pump Station on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two. The pump station was rehabilitated at a cost of approximately $528 million and is outfitted with two fixed 150 cusec pumps designed to drain 13,454 gallons per minute. It will benefit over 5,712 acres of farmland, predominantly rice fields, which have been the backbone of this region’s agricultural output.
The pump station was constructed by H. Nauth & Sons.
While offering remarks at the commissioning, Minister Mustapha said the activity represented an important milestone for the agricultural and economic development of the region. He also said the investment symbolized the PPP/C Government’s commitment to the farmers and communities who rely heavily on a well-functioning and efficient drainage and irrigation system for their livelihoods.
“This commissioning represents another commitment that is being fulfilled by the PPP/C government. When we went to the electorate, we said if we were elected, we would deliver. And over the last four years, we have been delivering to you, the people of this country. This rehabilitation and commissioning of the Andrews Pump Station is an important milestone for agricultural activities and economic development in this region. With over 90% of the people in this region directly and indirectly involved in the agriculture sector, this project symbolizes our commitment to ensuring you have the necessary infrastructure to boost production,” Minister Mustapha said.
Furthermore, Minister Mustapha said while there were unavoidable delays due to several factors, the project was completed, and that an additional four pump stations are scheduled to be commissioned in the coming weeks.
“The Chairman of NDIA spoke about some of the factors contributing to the delays with this project. While the nay-sayers may want to speak on these delays, I have news for them. We’ve also commissioned pump stations at Adventure, Greenwich Park, and Cozier. Another four pump stations will also be commissioned in the coming weeks. Approximately ten pump stations will be commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority in less than four years,” he explained.
Minister Mustapha also said that investments are also being made to rehabilitate critical sluices and canals in the region.
“We met with the small contractors. I told them that certain standards had to be met to maintain the canals. They said they needed help to excavate the canals. We then budgeted over $119 million to help these contractors so that farmers could benefit from irrigation,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth said the drainage structure forms part of a wider programme to improve drainage and irrigation in the country.
“The project that we’re commissioning here represents a programme of other investment in drainage work that we’ve implemented over the last two years. We’ve built pump stations and sluices under this project. We’re also building a control structure along the main canal; something that has been pending since the onset of irrigation services and the establishment of that main canal. With the expansion of agriculture in this area, which is close to 10,000 acres in the catchment serviced by this facility, we did an evaluation which determined that additional drainage capacity was needed,” he said.
The pump station will benefit communities from Marias Delight to Westbury as well as Lima Sands. It will also cater for parts of Devonshire Castle, Walton Hall and Paradise.
