Ground broken for water project in St Elizabeth
ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica (JIS) — Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Dr Horace Chang, broke ground for the installation of 4.6 kilometres of pipeline on the Hounslow to Newell water supply project in St. Elizabeth, on July 14.
The project, which will be carried out by Surrey Paving and Aggregates Limited, forms phase 2A of the Hounslow to Newell project and will be done at a cost of $60.5 million.
Some 1,000 residents of Newell, Bigwoods, Bethany and environs will benefit from the project, which is scheduled to be completed within eight months.
In his address, the Minister said the project will play a pivotal role in addressing water shortage in the areas.
He added that another focus of the project is to reduce the amount of non-revenue water in St. Elizabeth, pointing out that the parish has one of the highest rates.
Dr Chang said the National Water Commission (NWC) is on a path to reduce non-revenue water and if successful, could result in lower water rates for consumers.
“If we can have more people taking off the line and paying for it, we can retain water at the kind of cost structure we currently have,” he added.
Meanwhile, Project Director at Surrey Paving and Aggregates Limited, Michael Archer, gave a commitment that the project will be completed on time and within budget.
“We are an ISO-9000 company and so we will ensure that all the requirements for health and safety are met to reduce or eliminate inconvenience to the communities,” Mr. Archer said.
