The short, medium and longer development plans for APUA’s Water Business
Unit were presented to the nation this week by the Minister responsible for
Utilities, Melford Nicholas.
Minister Nicholas was speaking at the signing ceremony where APUA and Seven
Seas Water Group (SSWG), a US-based company, signed an agreement where the
company will produce approximately 3 million gallons of water daily over the
duration of a 12-year agreement.
Nicholas outlined that following the commissioning of the two plants one in six
months and the other 18 months later – APUA’s water production capacity will
reach roughly 12 million gallons daily.
He said water production has been one of the main challenges that the utilities
company faces in meeting demand. The minister explained that the growing
dependence on reverse osmosis for the production of water, this comes with a
number of setbacks, chief of which has been the condition of the seas which affects
the amount of water produced at specific times of the year.
“The demand for water has been growing exponentially over the last several years
due to several factors. These include the rapid expansion in the number of homes,
over one thousand in the last several years completed by two government agencies.
Then we are also supplying cruise ships, a key ingredient of our tourism industry.
Added to this is the expansion in the number of hotels, many of which are opening
for longer periods during the year. The end result is that all these entities are
demanding more and more water,” he disclosed.
APUA will sign a second agreement with another company and it will soon
commission another plant of its own at Bethesda. According to Minister Nicholas
the aim is to have productive capacity of 12-14 million gallons of water per day.
That he stated is the goal.
However, Nicholas noted that settling the production challenge will not completely
solve the water situation as the distribution of the water is another pressing issue.
“Distribution is the next phase that we will tackle. That means replacing the aging
distribution network, which is some 80-years old. During the recent visit to China,
the Prime Minister and his team were able to secure a commitment from the
Chinese government for assistance in this regard. Following which we want to
ensure that no matter where you live on Antigua, we will be able to get water to
you. The systems and investments necessary to achieve this remain a critical part
of the equation,” he stated.
