The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) in collaboration with the World Bank yesterday signed two contracts with international contractors for the construction of Water Treatment Plants (WTP) and the supply of water meters and boxes.

General Earth Movers – UEM Inc Ltd of Purcell Street, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, was awarded the contract for design and construction of water treatment plants at Lima, Essequibo; Vergenoe-gen, to supply the Parika area; and at Cotton Tree, mainly for the Rosignol area which should become an area of activity with the construction of the Berbice bridge. The contract costs $1.2 billion and is expected to last 18 months.

Universal Trading and Engineering Corporation of the USA was awarded the contract of supplying 12,000 single-jet water meters and meter boxes at the cost of $190 million. This is estimated to last a period six months.

The WTP at Lima will be located at the site surrounding the already existing pump station and is expected to serve all villages extending from Queenstown to Walton Hall.

At Vergenoegen, the WTP will also be located at the existing pump station and will serve all villages from De Kinderen to St Lawrence, while at Cotton Tree the WTP will be stationed on a plot of land behind the Cotton Tree Nursery school and will serve villages from Shieldstown to Inverness. The funding for these projects comes from a grant provided by the World Bank with partial funding by the Guyana Government.

CEO of GWI Karan Singh said at the signing that he hoped the new meters would give the company an opportunity to account for a substantial amount of the water it distributes and minimize current losses by at least 15 percent. He said that the company is in the process of seeking out local companies to award supervising contracts.

Rajesh Sajja, Project Manager of General Earth Movers, said the submission of designs for his project will be done within the next two weeks with actual work to commence by the first week in March.

Also present at the signing was task team leader of the World Bank Manuel Schiffler and Rosario Harper, Business Development Manager for Universal Trading and Engineering Corporation, along with other officials from both companies and GWI.