By Sharmain CornetteRehabilitation works on three of the 24 sewerage pumping stations in the city are progressing at a satisfactory rate which is likely to see these facilities being completed and possibly even commissioned by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) before this month ends.At least this is according to GWI’s Project Manager, Ramchand Jailall, during an interview with this newspaper.The project titled ‘Georgetown Water Supply and Sewerage Programme II, Rehabilitation of Sewerage pumps’, is being undertaken by the government with the support of a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) valued at $170.6M.Based on the details of the contract (LO 1047 / SF-GY) the project should be completed in its entirety within a seven-month period. And works by the contractor Suresh Jagmohan Hardware Supply and Construction Services are progressing well, according to Jailall, who along with Project Engineer, Dudistir Gocool, sought to detail the advancement of the programme during a site visit on Friday.Works are currently ongoing at the sewerage pumping stations situated at Princes and High Streets, Hadfield Street and Winter Place and at Laluni and New Garden Streets.Though all of the pumping stations have been identified for rehabilitation during the time stipulated by the contract, Gocool noted that the contractor has sought to undertake the task in phases, hence the three pumping stations were selected as the first phase.In fact, the Project Engineer disclosed that it is expected that the contractor will complete three pumps within a month, a process which is expected to be repeated until the project concludes next year. Works on the three pumping stations, currently being attended to, commenced during the latter part of last month.However Gocool did assert that “If works last for more than a month on the three pumping stations it does not mean that the project has a setback.Rather what would happen is that the contractor would be learning from each station he works on and so he is likely to move faster as the project progresses.”Workmen in the belly of the sewerage facility.The scope of the project, the Project Engineer related, necessitates the extension of the pumping station walls, installation of new pumps and replacement of pipelines and some painting works. To date, he said that the works completed include the extension of the walls and the completion of the kiosk.The kiosk, he explained, is the electrical room that will house all of the electrical parts of the pumping station, including the electrical panels that will power the pumps.The panels have already been shipped from Miami and will arrive next week along with 22 waste water submersible pumps.Last week GWI’s Acting Director of Capital Investment and Planning, Altaf Gafoor, announced the arrival of six of these pumps.Among the outstanding works to be completed on the three pumping stations are the installation of the pumps, pipe works, which were being undertaken on Friday, and electrical works.The electrical aspect of the project, Gocool said, will require the Guyana Power and Light Company to install some connections.On Friday last,Wholesale Jerseys NFL, workmen fully clad with safety gears could be seen some four feet down in the pumping station set-up busily connecting pipelines and positioning form boards to give a neat finish to their work.Once the internal works are completed the Project Engineer revealed that a concrete slab will be cast over the top of the sewerage pumping facility which will protect the completed works. However, general maintenance, Gocool said, will be ongoing by the contractor for the first year and will be continued by the GWI Sewerage Maintenance Department, a process which is carried out on a weekly basis.With the complete overhaul of the respective pumping stations, coupled with regular maintenance, Gocool is confident that they will remain in optimal working order for at least the next 15 years, effectively improving the city’s sewerage system.
