Three shovel-wielding construction workers stood in a deep pit in Paraquita Bay Tuesday afternoon as a backhoe noisily scraped away mud at the pit’s bottom.
The pit, located on Crown land currently leased to the United Kingdom-based firm Biwater, will soon house a seawater pump station that will link intake pipes with a new desalination plant that has yet to be completed.
That plant will produce the 2.3 million imperial gallons of water per day that government has agreed to purchase from the firm. It is expected to become operational midway through next year, according to Richard Smith, Biwater’s Virgin Islands project manager. It will be followed by the installation of two sewage treatment plants, repaired pump stations, and related sewer mains.
All aspects of the project are set to be completed by November 2014, Mr. Smith said, adding that several million dollars’ worth of construction works to be performed by local contractors will kick off in January.
“Ultimately, it all depends on the supply chain, but we’re going for it,” he said. “The handbrake, as I keep referring to it, has been released.”
See the Dec. 5, 2013 edition for full coverage.