Statement By Minister For Communications And Works Honourable Mark Vanterpool
At Third Sitting Of The Forth Session Of
The Second House Of Assembly On National Sewerage Programme

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Madam Speaker, barring any unforeseen delays, projects under the National Sewerage Programme - East End/Long Look and Road Town, Tortola - are expected to be completed by the end of this year 2015.

I am pleased to report to this Honourable House today that significant progress is being made to alleviate the sewerage problems that have plagued the Territory for many years.

Work began initially in the more acute areas of East End/Long Look and Road Town and to date, work is progressing smoothly to install gravity lines and pumping mains and construct Sewerage Treatment Plants.

Madam Speaker, looking specifically at the sewerage works in East End/Long Look, we have already completed the installation of approximately 1700 feet of 18-inch gravity lines, from Chapel Hill to Parham Town.

Works have also begun on the installation of approximately 2300 feet of 18-inch gravity lines from Long Swamp to Fat Hogs Bay.

Madam Speaker, installation of gravity lines and pumping mains between Parham Town and James Young and between James Young and Long Swamp, are on target to begin during the second quarter of 2015.

The Ministry will be working with its various departments and will be installing the 10-inch pumping main between Long Swamp and Paraquita Bay towards the latter part of this first quarter, followed by the treated effluent line from the Treatment Plant to a sea outfall at Brandywine Bay.

Madam Speaker, it is anticipated that household connections will begin by the end of July 2015 after all of the system components are installed.

Moving on to Paraquita Bay, Madam Speaker, where a Sewerage Treatment Plant is being constructed, I can report to this Honourable House today, that site clearance works are complete, fencing has been erected, topsoil has been stripped and stored off site and filling operations are complete to the final level where the Sewerage Plant will be located.

Madam Speaker, mechanical equipment and other system components for both Treatment Plants at Paraquita Bay and Burt Point are on island and the final components are due to arrive in the Territory within this month.

Work also continues to complete the Treatment Plant for Road Town, with civil works further advanced at Burt Point - piling and backfilling works are 100 percent complete.

Regarding the Road Town Sewerage Project, Madam Speaker, to date, approximately 5000 feet of new 12, 15 and 21-inch gravity sewer mains have been installed in the city centre, with another 200 feet of 21-inch gravity mains are still to be connected.

As a result, Madam Speaker, a total of four pump stations have been decommissioned and three more are to be decommissioned when this component of the Road Town Sewerage Project is completed.

The designs for the upgrade of the main Pump Station in Road Town are being finalised and work on the new Pump Station is expected to commence before the end of March.

In the meantime, works on the force mains from the main Pump Station in Road Town to the Treatment Plant at Burt Point are expected to begin by mid-March, with works to take place in two phases.

Phase 1, Madam Speaker, will begin from the old Peebles Hospital Yard to Burt Point and the second phase from the Hospital Yard to the Road Town Pumping Station.  That is the storage yard for the hospital project.

This aspect of the project is expected to be completed by mid-May 2015.

Madam Speaker, consideration was also given to connecting to the expanded cruise pier facility.

As such, all designs have now been finalised, foreign-supplied materials have been ordered and actual construction works to extend the main sewer to the Cruise Pier Development, is expected to commence in March this year.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of our Government and particularly the Ministry of Communications and Works, I would like to apologise to you, the public, for any inconvenience you may have experienced, or will experience, as we complete the National Sewerage Programme.

We thank you for your patience and we all look forward to the completion of this project.