Water system improvement will continue in Jamaica, says PM

Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, says the Government will continue to improve water systems islandwide to ensure access to the amenity to residents.

He emphasized that this is imperative, as water is pivotal to Jamaica’s attainment of significant economic growth and development.

Holness was speaking at the official launch of the Essex Valley Agriculture Project, at the Lititz Primary School in St. Elizabeth, on January 16.

The project, which represents one of the largest investments in irrigation infrastructure in Jamaica, will impact the livelihoods of over 700 farmers on 718 hectares of land, through the provision of irrigation water and improved access to local and global agricultural markets.

Prime Minister Holness also informed that the Hounslow Water Supply Project is to be completed in another six weeks.

“So another set of farmers and domestic households in this area [Lititz] will have access to potable water,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Mr. Holness advised that repairs have been completed on one of two damaged National Water Commission (NWC) pipelines beneath Mandela Highway.

This, he said, is expected to greatly alleviate challenges experienced by residents of Kingston and St. Andrew with their water supply.

He further indicated that it will take another three months for the NWC to replace the other broken 18-inch pipeline, which runs 35-feet beneath Mandela Highway.

“We have assessed the issues [and] we will have to abandon that and run new lines. But when that is done, Kingston will be adequately and sustainably served,” Holness said.

The Essex Valley Agriculture Development Project, which represents one of the largest investments in irrigation infrastructure in Jamaica, will impact the livelihoods of over 700 farmers on 718 hectares of land through the provision of irrigated water and improved access to local and global agricultural markets.

It is being funded at a cost of £35. 5 million by the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) through the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and seeks to enhance the productivity of farmers in the Essex Valley, in a socially inclusive, gender equitable and climate sensitive manner.