Japanese Ambassador to Guyana Tatsuaki Iwata met President Bharrat Jagdeo at State House today to discuss the next step in efforts to strengthen the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) and the prospects of reaching a conclusion.
According to reports coming out from a government agency this afternoon,
upon the conclusion of the team’s assessment, a final plan will be drafted qualifying Guyana to benefit from the procurement of equipment, earthen works with the EDWC and rehabilitation of critical drainage structures.
The Japanese team was headed by Goya Yoshiyuki, the Executive Technical Advisor to the Director General of the Rural Development Department, of JICA. Technical experts from Japan are working closely with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority to boost its capacity.
The EDWC is a major freshwater impoundment located in Region Four, 15 miles south of the most densely populated sections of Guyana . It is bounded to the north by a 40-mile earthen dam structure and south by the natural topographic rise composed largely of ancient coastal dune formations.
The conservancy serves two purposes; first as a flood control structure which prevents water from the back lands invading the coast during the rainy season; and second as a source of irrigation for the agricultural lands during the dry season. The floods of 2005 had resulted in overtopping of the conservancy and prompted action by government to upgrade and strengthen the structure through a number of projects.
