Rio Cobre Treatment Plant to Boost Water Resilience in St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew
By: , May 22, 2025
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (sixth left), is photographed on Wednesday (May 21) at the Rio Cobre Water Treatment Plant project site in Content, St. Catherine, where excavation work is being carried out prior to the start of construction. Other participants (from left) are VINCI Construction Grands Projects Civil Works Supervisor, Abdul Khan, Project Manager, Thomas Savary, Jamaica Country Manager, Timothee Delebarre, and Director of Water, Geoffrey Desportes; Member of Parliament, St. Catherine North Central, Natalie Neita Garvey; Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with Responsibility for Water, Hon. Matthew Samuda; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Arlene Williams; Acting President, National Water Commission (NWC), Kevin Kerr; Councillor, Sligoville Division, Dwight Burke; NWC Regional Manager, St. Catherine and Clarendon, Garwaine Johnson, Vice President, Enterprise Development Performance Management, Glaister Cunningham, and Water Production and Distribution Manager, André Brown; and Independent Engineer from N.O. Whyte and Associates Limited, Noel Whyte.
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre), and Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with Responsibility for Water, Hon. Matthew Samuda (left), are shown excavation work being carried out at the Rio Cobre Water Treatment Plant project site in Content, St. Catherine, by Director of Water at VINCI Construction Grands Projects, Geoffrey Desportes, during a tour on Wednesday (May 21).
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Excavation work being carried out at the Rio Cobre Water Treatment Plant project site in Content, St. Catherine, ahead of the start of construction. Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, toured the site on Wednesday (May 21) to get an update on the development, which is slated for completion within two years.The Full Story
Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the construction of the Rio Cobre Water Treatment Plant in Content, St. Catherine, will enhance water resilience for residents in sections of St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew.
Dr. Holness was speaking while touring the project site on Wednesday (May 21), during which he expressed pleasure at seeing the plans for this critical infrastructure come to fruition after being conceptualised by the National Water Commission (NWC) in 2009.
Contractors and developers of the project, VINCI Construction Grands Projects, are currently carrying out excavation works for the plant’s construction at a cost of US$77 million (approximately J$12 billion).
The project is scheduled for completion within two years.
The facility is expected to deliver approximately 15 million gallons of water daily to more than 600,000 residents.
It will also provide much-needed relief to the strained conditions of key water infrastructure, including the Mona Reservoir and Hermitage Dam in St. Andrew.
“This is a critical development for water in this region. Already, many of our water distribution and production facilities are under severe stress. The [reservoir] at Mona, that is under severe stress; several wells in Portmore and St. Catherine, which we rely on, those wells are overused, and the Hermitage Dam, a hundred-year-old piece of water infrastructure, that is compromised in certain areas,” he highlighted.
Dr. Holness stated that the Rio Cobre treatment plant will also enable the temporary decommissioning of the Hermitage Dam for necessary repairs.
“So we will be able to repair [and] expand that. But it [also] gives us an opportunity to rest some of the wells on which we have been relying for far too long; so those wells will have an opportunity to replenish,” he further indicated.
The Rio Cobre Water Treatment Plant’s development is being funded through public-private partnerships, with support from Sagicor Jamaica Limited, Proparco Finance Company and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Invest.
It entails the construction of an intake system, inclusive of lift pumps; construction of conveyance pipeline from the Rio Cobre River to the treatment plant site and interconnection to the NWC’s distribution network.
In addition to improving water supply reliability in sections of the targeted parishes, the plant will also strengthen the water sector’s resilience during drought periods and support the growth of business and residential developments.
“So, generally, this is a very good project for Jamaica, and this will improve the quality and service that Jamaicans get from our water systems,” Dr. Holness stated.