Residents of several East Coast Demerara communities are now benefiting from enhanced flood protection following the recent commissioning of the $1.54 billion Liliendaal pump station. The facility has significantly upgraded the area’s drainage system, doubling its discharge capacity and easing the burden on flood-prone neighbourhoods.
According to Chairman of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Lionel Wordsworth, “What this will do is significantly increase the drainage in areas of parts of North Ruimveldt, South Ruimveldt, Lilendaal, Belair, and Turkeyen. This has been serving the area very well as we are now experiencing the mid year rains.”
The station’s new pump has increased its discharge rate from 90,000 to 200,000 gallons per minute — a major boost to Guyana’s ongoing efforts to build climate resilience and reduce the impacts of flooding.
Wordsworth highlighted the station’s success while announcing broader efforts to strengthen drainage and irrigation systems across the country. “By the end of this year, we (the NDIA) will add to our drainage pump fleet another 40 mobile drainage pumps giving us the capacity to respond to needs in various areas that are being affected whether for irrigation or drainage.”
The Liliendaal station is one of more than 30 new pump installations being undertaken along the coast. “This has been serving the area very well,” Wordsworth reiterated, noting its importance during the current rainy season.
He added that the initiative forms part of the NDIA’s wider strategy to boost flood resistance nationwide, with work already ongoing in several regions, including Regions Three and Five.
The project was executed under the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU) and funded through a World Bank loan. It supports the government’s commitment to improving drainage infrastructure across both residential and agricultural areas.
