BiWater forging ahead with works
In fact, the Minister did a visit of three of the sites yesterday November 15, 2011 and told Virgin Islands News Online that the project was never halted but that Government has already started to review documents pertaining to the project and that his visit was just to familiarize himself with the project and the extent of works undertaken.
Speaking to this news agency last week, Hon. Vanterpool had said he had taken a decision to halt all major projects for review to ensure that the projects were moving in a direction his Government, the National Democratic Party (NDP) administration, wants them to go.
“Today I asked the Director of Public Works to halt all major projects until I have reviewed them and tomorrow [November 10] I will do that formally,” the Minister had disclosed in a brief interview with Virgin Islands News Online on Wednesday November 9, at the Sir Rupert Briercliffe Hall where he was sworn in as Minister.
However, Minister Vanterpool told Virgin Islands News Online yesterday November 15, 2011 following his tour of the BiWater sites that works on the project is continuing. “I think there was some mis-understanding. I said I was going to be able to hold projects for review. The BiWater Project was never halted. They have a contract in place to do the works. We wanted to review it with them. We started the process of reviewing documents and so on the last week or so and today we did a review of the project itself.”
The Minister further said that more information is being gathered about the project and the extent of works executed so far “so that we could have a better understanding of it. So it is not halted, no”.
Among the sites visited by Hon Vanterpool, along with members of the Public Works Department and Water and Sewerage Department, were the staging point at Paraquita Bay and the Sabbath Hill reservoir project sites.
Meanwhile, Resident Director of Biwater BVI S.A.Ltd. Richard Smith also told Virgin Islands News Online that works were continuing and that BiWater was well advanced with work at Sabbath Hill, where a 500,000 gallon capacity reservoir is to be placed.
“It’s business as usual. We are working through the project programme. That is how it is,” Smith said.
According to the much debated BiWater contract, BiWater (BVI) Ltd. will rehabilitate the existing sewerage pumping station at the Roundabout in Road Town, replace the sewers connecting the station to the sewer system and outfall with some 6,000 feet of 12-inch mains and construct sewage treatment plants at Burt Point and Paraquita Bay, sufficient to treat the sewage to World Health Organization standards, before discharging to the sea.
The contract also indicates the establishment of a 2.3 million gallon per day desalination plant which will be handed over, free of charge, in good working condition to Government at the end of a 16-year period.
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