The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) has secured a loan to improve water and other services, Cabinet reported today.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet invited the management team from the APUA to join the meeting, virtually, in order to provide updates on the provision of adequate supplies of potable water in these drought-ridden times, among other matters.
“The APUA team announced that it has secured a significant loan to allow it to improve all three services which it provides, and to consolidate its many obligations,” Cabinet notes indicated.
It added that APUA will spend $30 million on reverse osmosis plants at Fort James and Bathesda.
“Providing a sufficient supply of potable water to all of Antigua’s households, businesses and institutions remains an APUA top priority.” The money will also go towards repairing old pipes.
The increase in water delivery, brought about by the absence of leakage and the addition of 2.5 million gallons daily, will be sufficient to meet the demands of 10 million gallons daily by 2025 or over five more years. Growth in the economy, to be generated by the construction of new hotels, other hospitality enterprises, more farms and an Agro-Industrial Park, will cause a greater demand for potable water. The drought has increased the current demand from approximately 6.3 million gallons daily in March, April and May 2019, to 7.2 million gallons daily in 2020.
APUA will also be improving its other services with the loan which it is to sign-off in a short while, including its Inet services, its fiber-to-home services, and electricity.
Smart meters are to be introduced that will measure actual usage of both electricity and water by consumers; the various by-pass systems that are currently employed by large consumers, especially, but not exclusively, will become antiquated. The new devices will be able to track consumption, thereby ending the current practice of artificially and wrongfully escaping the true cost of the supply consumed.
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We would rejoice.When we see it really,really, happens.Only then would we rejoice.Too many promises and little or no results.We as a people should judged those in Political Offices only on the “end results” of their promises. APUA,you as a Government Entity would so be judged by the results only.
I look forward to the fiber to the home service being expanded to other communities, to include Pottes, Seaview farm, Lightfoot, Renfrew. All Saint Liberta…. Just to name a few
Antigua needs to lower the cost of its CIP program ASAP to attract more attention and investment, we should take that money and invest in our water infrastructure. It’s 2020 and we still have to worry about water?
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