Works Minister Jack Warner yesterday got high praises from Louis Lee Sing, mayor of the PNM-controlled Port-of-Spain City Corporation, for starting the construction of a detention pond to alleviate flooding in the capital city. The pond, costing almost $2 million, will be constructed at South Quay to reduce the amount of water that appears on the Eastern Main Road at the entrance to Port-of-Spain when it rains heavily. A detention pond detains water for a short period and slowly releases it.
The executing agency for the project is the National Infrastructural Development Company. The pond is one of nine packages, including the raising of the East Dry River bridge, intended to alleviate flooding throughout Port-of-Spain. Lee Sing made the comments at a news conference called by Warner to inform people of the construction of the pond. "I have nothing but thanks and appreciation for what has been done so far," he added.
The mayor said he begged residents there not to sell their properties promising that "we will fix it." He said a resident asked him how he knew he was going to fix the problem and he replied: "I said because Warner is working on the problem. "She told me I had faith and I told her that the man does what he says he is going to do," the mayor said.