Government is expected to cement a deal shortly with Caribbean Basin Enterprises (BVI) Engineering Associates Ltd (CBE), to carry out sewerage works in Road Town and East End/Long Look. Premier Ralph T. O’Neal made the disclosure during the presentation of the 2010 Budget in the House of Assembly last Friday.

According to Premier O’Neal, work includes a system wide inspection and flow monitor, replacement/repair of lift station and repair/replacement of collection system in Road Town. East End/Long Look work will include the installation of Parham Town gravity lines and construction of trunk lines from Parham Town to Greenland pump station.  CBE will also undertake the construction of the Greenland pump station and the installation of the main interceptor from the pump station to Paraquita Bay.

CBE’s Managing Director, Carvin Malone, recently told StandPoint that negotiations were still ongoing with the Government. Malone resigned last year as President of the governing Virgin Islands Party (VIP). He had expressed a desire to be involved in sewerage works on Tortola and stated that he resigned to focus on business, including positioning CBE for capital projects.

Minister for Communications and Works, Julian Fraser, said last month that the sewerage portion of the Biwater agreement will see the supply of a new BICOM Sewerage Treatment Plant at Paraquita Bay for the treatment of Sewerage in East End/Long Look. The plant is considered adequate for a population equivalent to 5000.

Another BICOM Sewerage Treatment plant will also be installed at Burt Point for a population equivalent of 15,000. For the first time, the plant will allow for the treatment of sewerage in the Road Town and surrounding areas.

The treatment plant will allow for future expansion and will be compliant with World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Additionally, a 150 KVA generator will be installed to allow operations to continue when there are power outages.

As part of the Biwater agreement, the existing sewerage pumping station near the roundabout on Wickhams Cay I in Road Town will be will be refurbished and converted to a below-ground facility. Also in Road Town, Biwater is expected to replace existing sewerage pumps and pipe work and provide new control panel storage.

The repositioning of the roundabout station is expected to contribute to the aesthetic of Road Town and bring relief to the Congregation of a Church, located adjacent to the pump station, as well as other businesses in the immediate area.

“The challenges of sewerage in Road Town are no secret, especially if you have been to the cinema lately.  For years we have listened to the cries of residents, the business community and visitors to our shores on the unacceptable situation in Road Town.  With the Biwater Agreement, change has come to the sewerage crisis in Road Town,” Minister Fraser stated.

Biwater is expected to undertake the installation some 7,800 feet of sewerage pipes including a new 12 inch sewerage force main of 2,400 feet from the Road Town pump station to the existing Waterfront pump station. According to Minister Fraser, Biwater will also install an additional 4,100 feet of pipe to the Treatment Plant at Burt Point, with a 1,300 feet effluent return.

“No longer will our residents and the business community have to tolerate sewage overflow on the James Walter Francis Drive outside the Labor Department building, a situation which results in the closure of offices and stores that affect our economy and productivity. No longer will sewerage be backing up over in the Village Cay Marina area with the stench unbearable for visitors, residents and the boating community there,” Minister Fraser asserted.

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