Port Royal pipeline to improve water supply
Published:Saturday | July 29, 2023 | 12:07 AM
Residents of Port Royal in East Kingston can expect to benefit from improved water supply in the next six months as the National Water Commission (NWC) undertakes the replacement of the existing transmission main between the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) roundabout and the utility company’s pumping station in the town.
The $433-million project will see the aged cast iron transmission main replaced with 12-inch high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline. Material in the HDPE pipeline is more resilient to the high saltwater levels common to the area, and it is expected to last 40 to 50 years.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the project, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the investment in the critical infrastructure will result in further development of the area.
“Once you put in place water and road infrastructure, electricity, and, in today’s context, sewage and internet, you are going to see residential, commercial and industrial development in an orderly way mushroom,” he said.
The works represent the third segment of the upgrade work being undertaken by the NWC. Initial work started in 2012 from Harbour View to the roundabout of the NMIA, and the second phase is now under way at the facility near the Port Royal town centre.
NWC President Mark Barnett revealed that the agency has a capital budget of approximately $7.5 billion to carry out infrastructure work this year.
Declaring that “things are changing”, the prime minister noted that his responsibility is to highlight this and remove citizens’ “resistance” to good news.
According to Holness, 90 per cent of projects financed in the last 40 years were done through loans or deferred expenditure. However, he said this is no longer the case.
“We are able to finance your needs, the water needs, not by going to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) or World Bank or bilateral or other banks; we are able to finance our projects from our budget. That’s a massive change,” he said.
Holness added: “Previously we used to spend upwards of 60 per cent of every dollar that we earn to repay debt, now we are spending just about 30 per cent of every dollar that we earn to repay debt. Isn’t that a profound and fundamental change in our country?”
The start of development
He proclaimed that the replacement of the pipelines is the start of development that will take place in Port Royal.
“In the next budget year, we will be able to focus on doing some revetment work along the coastline here to protect the land from a catastrophic weather event, if one [were to] occur. And then we will be able to build more social housing, the other complaint of the people of Port Royal about the conditions of their houses,” he said.
“And then the following year we can seek to improve roads and put in drains, and then the following year we can look to improve the school. All of these are now possible.”
Meanwhile, Lorraine Dobson, councillor for the Springfield division, said the new pipelines were long overdue and are a result of consistent lobbying.
“Being a resident of Port Royal all my life, I can tell you, it has not been easy living under the previous water conditions. Many days and on few occasions, weeks, we have had to do without running water as a result of broken mains, rotten pipes, or even pipes being washed away by high tides,” she said.