MP Watts calls on Minister Nicholas to give answers and evidence to questions about Bethesda RO Plant
An Opposition MP is raising several questions concerning the undelivered
Bethesda Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plant and the Seven Seas company’s water
deal.
The construction of an RO Plant in Bethesda was announced in 2022, and,
according to the Browne Administration’s timeline, it should have been
completed already.
Yet, almost two years later, the project has not even commenced, despite the
Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) having taken a loan of about $180
million from ACB Caribbean to accommodate this initiative.
As it relates to the Seven Seas deal for the enhancement of water delivery,
which was announced earlier this year, this is expected to be a public-private
partnership between APUA and the overseas company.
However, opposition MPs are yet to see the agreement, as it has not been
taken before the Parliament.
In a press release published on May 7, St. George MP Algernon “Serpent”
Watts notes that – almost two years after the September 2022 delivery date
for the three-million-gallons-per day Bethesda RO Plant – residents continue
to suffer from an unreliable and inadequate water supply.
Therefore, Watts is calling on Public Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas to
provide honest and evidence-backed answers to several questions, including
the date on which the Bethesda RO Plant arrived in Antigua and its current
status.
The MP also wants the reasons for the repeated delays in making the plant
operational; the current target date for getting the plant up and running; how
much money has already been paid for the plant; and how much money
remains to be paid.
Watts is also asking whether problems with the delivery of that Plant
prompted the Government’s deal with the Seven Seas Water Group.
Further, Minister Nicholas is called upon to provide copies of the Bethesda RO
Plant purchase agreement and the Seven Seas Water Group BOOT (Buy,
Operate, Own, Transfer) agreement to all Members of Parliament and to the
general public.
According to MP Watts, “In light of the Gaston Browne Government’s
continued failure to solve the water crisis, these agreements must be urgently
examined to ensure they represent value for money, and that they are
generally in the best interest of our people.”
During the 2023 Budget Presentation, Finance Minister Browne revealed that
the cost of the Bethesda RO Plant is US$14 million (EC$37.8 million).
Then, in the 2024 Budget Statement, delivered on December 15, 2023, he
reported that EC$20 million had already been paid for the Plant.
Watts says, “It is completely unacceptable to keep the public suffering and in
the dark while this substantial water production investment continues to bear
no fruit.”
Earlier this year, the United Progressive Party (UPP) called for information on
the millions of dollars borrowed by the Antigua Public Utilities Authority to
upgrade its water-supply mechanisms and to construct the Bethesda Plant.
The Party said, then, that – as usual – the Gaston Browne Administration had
boasted of investing hundreds of millions to rectify the water crisis; yet things
remain the same, the UPP said, and – in some cases – might have gotten worse.
