APUA is adding more water production capacity with the signing on Monday of an
agreement between the Antigua and Barbuda government and the Government of
Japan for the installation of another reverse osmosis plant to be sited at Fryes
Beach.
An agreement to install a second Japanese funded plant at the Fryes Beach facility
was signed by Prime Minister, Gaston Browne and the Japanese Ambassador to the
Eastern Caribbean, Yutaka Matsubara. Under the agreement, Japan will finance the
second plant at a cost of US$1.4 million. It will have the capacity to produce 332-
thousand gallons of water daily. After it is erected, the combined production of the
new plant coupled with the other plant installed in 2022, will amount to 1.2 million
gallons of water daily.
Prime Minister Browne said the grant from the Japanese government will assist
Antigua and Barbuda achieve its water production goals and it signals the very
close relationship that currently exists between the two countries.
“What Japan has done is to help us sustain water sustainability, recognizing that
Antigua and Barbuda is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. This
is not a new phenomenon; it is something that the country has been wrestling with
for decades. However, it has in more recent times been aggravated by the persistent
droughts. We have seen rainfall drop from an average of about 35 inches annually
to 18 inches of year recorded one year during the drought just ended,” he recalled.
He added that residents of Antigua and Barbuda have over the years had to contend
with water scarcity, although he recognises that there have been improvements in
the water supply in more recent times.
Utilities Minister, Melford Nicholas expressed appreciation to the government of
Japan for helping Antigua and Barbuda through APUA to build-out its water
production capabilities. The addition of the new plant and the existing plant, also
financed by Japan, will allow APUA to better serve customers in the southern
corridor of Antigua.
“This means we will have yet another plant added to the facilities at Fryes which
have already been built out to accommodate this new expansion will bring APUA
capacity on completion to 1.2 million gallons daily,” he revealed.
Nicholas noted that the Japanese government has been financing a number of
projects in Antigua and Barbuda through its Grant Assistance for Grassroots
Human Security Projects, which are designed to help community-based initiatives
and progrmmes.
These include the Antigua and Barbuda Waste Recycling Cooperation, the Antigua
and Barbuda Red Cross, the construction of the Hospitality Training Facility at the
GARD Centre, and agricultural education through hydroponics at the All Saints
Secondary and the St Marcy’s School of Excellence.
Japanese Ambassador Matsubara said the new plant serves to improve the
country’s water infrastructure given its perennial problems with droughts, now
being worsened by the effects of climate change. “This plant is to help supply this
valuable resource, at an affordable price, and which can also be made available to
the agricultural sector to improve food security,” he stated.
It is the second water production agreement signed within a week that will result in
increased water production for the country.
