A sewage treatment plant is to be constructed shortly at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, by UEM Inc., a Florida, USA company, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is providing US$365,127 to fund the project.
The project comes under the Government of Guyana/IDB Air Transport Reform Programme and the design, construction and commissioning of the plant at the CJIA is expected within the next five months.
Senes Consultants Ltd of Canada is the environmental consultant for the project.
A defects-liability period of six months to ensure all concerns are adequately addressed will commence immediately thereafter.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Works and Communications, Kenneth Jordan who signed contract documents on government's behalf said that Vikab has been selected to overlook the project.
According to Jordan, the works include construction of a steel and concrete double cylindrical sewage treatment plant with a design capacity of 348 cubic metres per day. The plant will also consist of bar screens and grit chambers, flow-measuring device, inlet tank, aeration tank, clarifier tank, disinfection and sludge treatment along with the necessary pipelines and submersible pumps.
The facility will also have an operations building with laboratory facilities to allow testing and monitoring of the plant's performance as well as generation capacity as a standby option. Jordan noted that training manuals would be prepared and supplied to staff at the CJIA who will be trained in the operation and maintenance of the plant.
UEM's Regional Manager Raj Kawhwaha alluded to his company's expertise in undertaking similar projects including the establishment of water treatment facilities at La Bonne Intention, East Coast Demerara, Eccles, East Bank Demerara, and Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni).
CJIA Chief Executive Officer, Leon Romero described the project as a dream come true especially since it caters for an examination of environmental concerns.
According to Romero, the present system is over 30-years old and critically outdated, with sewage being discharged into the nearby Demerara river through a series of pipes whose integrity might be suspect.
However, the new plant which will be sited near the Guyana Defence Force compound will ensure that environmentally-friendly goals are adopted. The plant is also expected to deal with likely environmental concerns that may arise as a result of the dumping of raw sewage. Stabroek News understands that the facility will treat raw sewage prior to it being deposited into waterways.