New Water Treatment Plant to be Constructed at Content, St. Catherine
By: , November 23, 2022
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (third left, seated), signs the Rio Cobre Public-Private Partnership Agreement for the construction of a new Water Treatment Plant in Content, St. Catherine, at Jamaica House in Kingston, on Wednesday (November 23). Also signing are (from left) President, National Water Commission (NWC), Mark Barnett; Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda; Chairman, NWC, Michael Shaw; Managing Director, Vinci Construction Grands Projects, Timothée Delebarre and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jamaica Producers Group Limited, Jeffery Hall. Witnessing the signing (from left) are Managing Director, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), Anthony Shaw; President and Chief Executive Officer, Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited, Christopher Zacca; Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang; Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Audrey Sewell; Managing Director, Eppley Limited, Nicolas Scott, and Director of Asia and Building Division and Water Works, Vinci Construction Grands Projects, Yanick Garillon.The Full Story
A new water treatment plant will be constructed in Content, St. Catherine, to better meet the demand for water in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA), Portmore and Spanish Town.
The plant, which is expected to be the second largest in Jamaica, will be able to transfer 15 million gallons of water to benefit approximately 150,000 customers.
Construction is slated to be completed in two years and will be managed through a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement between the National Water Commission (NWC) and Rio Cobre Water Limited. The project is valued at US$77 million.
At the contract-signing ceremony at Jamaica House, today (November 23), Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said the agreement will facilitate the design, build, financing, operation and maintenance of the plant.
“[The contract is] followed by a 23-year period of operation by the private partners, after which ownership of the plant will be transferred to the NWC. The PPP arrangement may also be renewed for an additional five years,” the Prime Minister added.
Noting that the plant is a necessity, as the growth of several sectors, such as real estate, continues to expand, Mr. Holness said water demand has increased across the KMA.
“In fact, I would say that in the last 50 years, you could be looking at three or four times the increase in consumption [and] the demand for potable water,” he said.
The NWC is required to supply approximately 55 million gallons of water daily to meet the water requirements in the KMA. Currently, only 28 million gallons per day are available for distribution during the dry season.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Vinci Construction Grands Projects, a company within Rio Cobre Water Ltd., Timothée Delebarre, said the plant will use state-of-the-art equipment and instruments.
“[The order of] the execution stage is first raising the financing, the designing and construction of the plant and then the commissioning of the plant to produce potable water. [Then we will] start the operation and maintenance of this plant,” he pointed out.