Port Antonio Water and Sewage Project on Track

The Port Antonio Water, Drainage and Sewage Project is on track for completion by the fourth quarter of 2011, Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, has said.
Dr. Chang, who was providing an update of the project in the House of Representatives yesterday (Dec. 2), said that a contract for the construction of the new sewage plant is scheduled to be awarded in the third quarter of 2009, with a 22-month construction period.
Also, the installation of the new sewage lines will take place under two contract packages – stage one and stage two. “Stage one should begin in May 2009 with construction to last 18 months,” he informed.
The Minister also told the House that bulk flow meters to correct underground leaks should be in the island by January 2009. “It is expected to award a contract for the installation of the meters in February 2009. Work is expected to be completed by July 2009,” Dr. Chang stated.
In the meantime, contracts are being negotiated to drill one new well and rehabilitate an existing one at Grant Level in Portland. “Both (wells) are to be equipped with new pumping equipment and will restore the system to its optimum capacity. This work should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009,” Dr. Chang said.
He informed that the remaining three new wells, which will double the capacity of the Grant Level plant to four million gallons per day, are expected to be completed and commissioned by the third quarter of 2011.