Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration to open in December

The multimillion-dollar Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration currently under construction at Onverwagt in Region Five is expected to open its doors as early as next month, Minister within the Finance Ministry, Juan Edghill, announced on Wednesday during an outreach to Regions Five and Six.
The centre is expected to house some 160 persons and was built at a cost of approximately Gy$402 million. The facility, which comprises two dormitories and an administrative building, will also include a medical facility to house a resident doctor, nurse, kitchen, library, and rooms for persons living with communicable diseases and disabilities.
As part of the outreach to various communities, the minister spoke with residents and visited a number of projects under which sluices, kokers, and revetments are being constructed.
He also held discussions with the respective contractors and was updated on the status of these projects.
Meanwhile, on his way to Regions Five and Six, the minister stopped to view progress of works at the Hope Canal, East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) in Region Four. Works at the site are ongoing and every effort is being made to meet its 2013 deadline, he noted.
Government initiated the US$15 million initiative to reduce the heavy flooding which sometimes affects communities in the Mahaica, Mahaicony, and Abary areas during the rainy seasons.     The Hope Canal project has four aspects: installation of over 10 kilometres of channel from the EDWC, a bridge across the public road, a conservancy head regulator with three gates, and an outfall at the canal’s Atlantic Ocean end that will comprise eight gates.

The canal’s excavation is being done by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), with BK International, DIPCON Engineering, and Courtney Benn Contracting Services constructing the other three components. The minister, underscoring the importance of the projects, pointed out that Guyana is below sea level and tends to flood during excessive rainfall.
“No country is able to develop a meaningful agriculture sector unless it has adequate drainage and irrigation, and this has proven to be an essential ingredient in ensuring that development takes place,” he said.
The minister said such works, embarked upon by government, are part of an overall plan to rehabilitate the entire drainage and irrigation network by improving existing infrastructure where necessary across the country.