Rehabilitation works at the Burt Point Wastewater Treatment Plant are expected to be completed in time for the facility to be commissioned in May of 2023.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Kye M. Rymer made this announcement during a recent sitting of the House of Assembly, during an update on what has unfolded since his ministry inked a $2.6 million project with Biwater International Limited.
“This contract was signed in August 2022, and the contractor subsequently received a mobilisation payment in September 2022. The contractor – BiWater International Limited, is currently acquiring all the required materials and equipment necessary for replacing the damaged components for subsequent shipment to the Virgin Islands. It is anticipated that all the long lead material and equipment will be shipped by January for the commencement of physical works on-site. It is further expected that the Wastewater Treatment Plant will be fully repaired and commissioned by May 2023”, he said.
Rymer went on to explain that due to the critical nature of the facility in question, it was determined that in the interim it would be necessary to seek out the services of an experienced company to manage and operate the plant.
Further, he noted that as a part of its responsibilities the company tasked with managing the plant will also be required to train personnel on how to properly maintain the facility, therefore building capacity within the workforce.
“My ministry is also working diligently on developing a tender document to coincide with the repair and commissioning of the plant for an experienced company to manage, operate and maintain the Wastewater Treatment Plant for a period of seven years. Due to the critical nature of the plant, it is necessary to have an experienced company operate the plant, with one of the key components being that they would be required to train Water and Sewerage Department personnel as identified to maintain the plant during the course of the seven-year period”, he stated.
Rymer added, “This company, which will be expected to manage the plant, will be required to undertake an apprenticeship programme where young and interested persons in this particular field can be identified, groomed, and subsequently supported through a scholarship opportunity via the Government of the Virgin Islands to become qualified plant operators and technicians so that we can build the capacity to effectively manage and maintain our wastewater infrastructure.”
Rymer explained that this training arrangement comes following a realisation that the territory would not reap the benefits of its repaired and modernised wastewater rehabilitation infrastructure without the trained workforce required to operate them.
“My ministry and I have recognized that with the coming on-stream of the Burt Point Plant, the recently commissioned Cane Garden Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the soon to be repaired Paraquita Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant that it is important that we not only have fully functioning Plants but that our people, particularly our young persons can be identified, trained, educated and developed to manage and operate these critical plants and equipment. It is for that reason, Madam Speaker, that we have allowed for a seven-year period to engage the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, and Sports, the H.L. Stoutt Community College, and other institutions, whereby interested persons can be identified, educated and then trained to manage these Plants”, he explained.