KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Matthew Samuda, conducted a viewing on Wednesday of potable water pipes and fittings in Freeport, Montego Bay, St James, slated for deployment under the Western Water Resilience Improvement Project – Phase 1 (WWRIP-1).

In a release on Wednesday, it was shared that the US$170 million investment involves the design and construction of approximately 65 kilometres of new ductile-iron potable water pipelines. The pipes are specifically engineered to replace the weakest links in the western water transmission chain, addressing persistent challenges such as ageing infrastructure, high non-revenue water losses, and climate variability.

“This represents US$170 million of infrastructure investment which is the budget for phase one of the Western Water Resilience Improvement Project. The total project will span some US$450 million,” Minister Samuda stated.

He described the initiative as a “nation-building project and a generational investment that unlocks economic activity and creates social stability for longer than a generation”.

The scope of the WWRIP-1 encompasses a massive technical and logistical undertaking to secure the water future of western Jamaica. It is designed to enhance interconnected hydraulics and storage, ensuring that the structural integrity of the infrastructure can support the rapid economic and tourism growth of the region.

The project simultaneously targets three critical transmission corridors, to include the upgrades of the Martha Brae and Great River Water Treatment plants and the development of a new water treatment plant in Roaring River in Westmoreland.

The new pipelines range from 500 to 800 millimetres in diameter, providing a massive boost to the transmission capacity of the Northwest Interconnected Water System. To minimise the environmental footprint and land acquisition requirements, the routes are strategically aligned with existing road corridors.

Minister Samuda further stated the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) “is indeed the best structure available to us… to build some of the infrastructure we now need to build in 20 months”. He emphasised that without the executive strength contemplated by the NaRRA legislation, “we will fail our citizens and not put them back on a path to growth, achieving their dreams and put the nation back firmly on its path to prosperity”.

The project is structured through a multi-year Works Order contract aligned with Government fiscal planning, with the first phase approved for the 2026–2027 period. It is being implemented on behalf of the National Water Commission (NWC) by VINCI Construction Grands Projets in close coordination with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), National Works Agency (NWA), and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), to manage construction through densely trafficked urban areas and tourism zones.