$400M water treatment plant for Six Miles, Region Seven – Min. Croal

The government will be investing $400 million to construct a new water treatment plant at Six Miles, Region Seven in a bid to supply the residents from Five Miles to Seven Miles with advanced access to treated water.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal made the announcement during an outreach at Bartica Community Centre on Friday.

In Bartica, $21 million was spent to upgrade the in-line filters upgrading the in-take capacity from the river to the treatment plant.

“But what you have here now is not sufficient. It does not cover the coverage for every resident that goes all the way to 7 miles,” the housing and water minister said.

“The tenders are open. The award will be made sometime in March. So, the commencement date will be in April for a new treatment plant to suffice with the current system that we have that will see areas such as Five Miles and Seven Miles will be getting full supply from that when we finished with that investment,” Minister Croal told the gathering.

Minister Croal pointed out that significant resources have been invested in expanding access to treated water over the years, as only 30 per cent of the region’s population had access to drinkable water in 2020.

In the hinterland, $95 million was invested in several areas to increase treated water access in 2021, while another $250 million was invested in 2022.

“Another $190 million for hinterland water distribution,” he added.

In three years, $535 million has been invested in the water sector.

This year, another $345 million has been budgeted to increase water coverage in the hinterland. 

Minister Croal then emphasised, “By the end of this year, $880 million will be directly invested for hinterland water for Region Seven, increasing the coverage from 30 per cent to 90 per cent. Our commitment is that we must have 100 per cent access by 2025.”

On Friday afternoon, Minister Croal along with his team visited the site where the new water treatment plant will be constructed.

Additionally, he visited the site where a new well is being drilled at Daag Point within the region to provide enhanced access to treated water.

By year-end, Minister Croal highlighted, “We will be injecting $2.4 billion since we came into office for 100 per cent access to water on a 24-hour basis for Bartica and 90 per cent access to persons in the hinterland.”