Jamaica breaks ground on Portmore Sewage Project

Jamaica National Water Commission has broken ground on the J$2.3bn ($20m) Portmore Sewage Project in St Catherine.

The entire project work will involve decommissioning of five old wastewater treatment plants, which will serve around 200,000 residents.

The National Water Commission (NWC) will carry out the project over 45 months, while Surrey Paving and Aggregate is the contractor for the project.

Out of the five, four plants at Independence City, Bridgeport, Hamilton Gardens and Caymanas Gardens receive combined flow of more than 18,200m³ per day and will be converted into transfer pumping stations.

The pumping stations will be used for sewage delivery to the Soapberry Wastewater Treatment Plant, which has a daily sewage treatment capacity of up to 75,000m³.

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change Robert Pickersgill said: "I have no doubt that inadequate waste management will cease to be a factor in Portmore and its environs as a result of this project, which also signifies our commitment to enhance the environmental health of the community, as well as the health and safety of its residents."

Surrey Paving and Aggregate will take around 24 months to design and build, while engineering designs will take another three to four months and construction will be completed on the project in 18 to 20 months.

Following completion, the contractor will operate the renovated facilities for another two years.

---

Image: Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change Robert Pickersgill (2nd left), participates in the ground-breaking for the $2.3bn Portmore sewage project. Photo: courtesy of news release at jis.gov.jm.