SINCE Bartica gained township status in 2016, the developments have been continuous as the Government of Guyana would have committed to making Bartica the town to emulate.

Last year, a multimillion-dollar project was embarked upon to construct a new and improved electric power plant to provide efficient service to the people, and to provide a safer working environment for the employees of Guyana Power and Light (GPL).

The modern 3.5MW power station is being constructed on the peripheries of the town at Dagg Point Agatash, and will replace the current station in central Bartica. The location of the current station is said to be a noise and water pollutant because of its location, and the demands of the expansion of the town are more than the current generators can facilitate.
As such, frequent power outages became a norm and a nuisance.

Mayor of the town Gifford Marshall said that for decades, Bartica suffered from poor power supply which negatively impacted almost every sector of the town such as education, business and health.

“There is much anticipation, since with stable and reliable power the benefits are [innumerable]. We will be afforded enhanced security, housing expansion, recreational opportunities and improved academia. Further, the present site in First Avenue Bartica is in itself an environmental crisis. It’s a pollutant,” Marshall said.

He added that the new power station is a timely and significant investment the Government of Guyana made and that it is an investment that is sure to transform the economic landscape of the town and move it closer to achieving the ‘green’ agenda.
Regional Chairman of Region Seven Gordon Bradford told the Guyana Chronicle that it is a massive improvement for Bartica, and its completion is being highly anticipated.

“3.5MW is more than enough to supply electricity to Bartica and its environs, and I am satisfied with the progress thus far. Our power lines are being upgraded awaiting the completion of the station, and soon we will be able to provide stable electricity to our people. We will be able to accommodate new housing areas and supply new housing schemes and any other areas and industries with efficient power service, something Bartica didn’t have,” Bradford said.

He also shared that the project was expected to be completed by last December but there were several setbacks including inclement weather, so there is a new deadline of the first quarter of 2019.

He added that in keeping with the ‘green’ agenda, the new power plant will later be working in conjunction with the solar farm that is also in under construction, to boost the supply of energy and to transform it into environmentally friendly energy for the ‘green’ town.