Wastewater Project for Carder Park in Portland

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the National Water Commission (NWC) signed a financing agreement on August 20 for the $22-million Carder Park Wastewater Project in Port Antonio, Portland.

The project includes the installation of a lift station which will connect Carder Park and the Port Antonio Craft Village to the newly built Anchovy Wastewater Treatment Plant in the parish.

It is expected to address long-standing challenges with sewage disposal experienced by residents and businesses in a town that often attracts tourists.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Carder Park, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Matthew Samuda, expressed pleasure at the project, as he believes Port Antonio is primed for development and the system will assist in moving those plans forward.

“Port Antonio is slated for massive development… not massive development that changes the character of Port Antonio but the sort of development that unlocks the true potential of her people,” Mr. Samuda said.

“Now that can’t happen if you don’t protect your environment – your soil quality, your water quality, your nearshore environment – that can’t happen without good wastewater systems. So, I am very happy and wish to extend my own thanks to the TEF and to the technical team and the National Water Commission who have designed a particular solution to ensure that those within the vicinity of the craft village are able to have their sewage be lifted away from that space to the appropriate treatment plant,” he added.

Meanwhile, TEF Executive Director, Dr. Carey Wallace, explained that the lift station will assist in the development of tourism in the parish as Portfolio Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, seeks to market the industry using ‘inclusive tourism’, which links all the special elements of the parishes in Jamaica to market the country to visitors.

“A parish like Portland is the best one to do it. It’s the nook and crannies and the attractions and the beaches and so on that you have that lend itself to that type of what we call low-density tourism, that kind of immersive tourism,” Dr. Wallace said.

He argued that with this type of tourism there is opportunity to invite tourists to experience Jamaica beyond the all-inclusive hotels and instead have them walk through the town centres, mingle with the residents, and eat and drink at the same cookshops and bars.

“That’s the opportunity we have in front of us… .  Portland has the greatest opportunity. You’re the most beautiful parish – the amount of waterfalls, the amount of beaches, and the amount of bays. Your capital has not one harbour; you have two harbours, but it spells opportunity,” Dr. Wallace added.

Mayor of Port Antonio, Councillor Paul Thompson, welcomed the lift station as he pointed to issues, including the unavailability of newly installed bathrooms at Carder Park, that hinder patrons who attend events at the location.

He also noted that the sewage disposal challenges also created limitations to operations at the Port Antonio Craft Market.

“This agreement signing will result in the installation of a lift pump, which will effectively address the problems being experienced, and to improve sewage disposal systems serving this area,” he said, and expressed gratitude to the Government, TEF and NWC.