Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath says the Government is taking steps to unlock and utilise US$120 million in existing IDB funding for long-needed upgrades to WASA’s ageing infrastructure.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament on Wednesday, Padarath said the Government is moving to utilise the existing IDB funding to modernise WASA’s ageing infrastructure.
“Post Budget 27, we will be aggressively working on WASA’s ageing infrastructure. There were two IDB loans that were taken by the former administration for the purposes of WASA. That totals in the amount of over $120 million US dollars and this is not a loan that was recently acquired.”
The Minister said the loans remained largely untapped by the previous administration because of conditions attached to the funding.
“Obviously, the loan comes with conditionalities, and therefore you have to be able to satisfy those conditionalities in order to access the loan. I think that has been part of the challenge with the former administration not being able to do as much as they should have done, but it really requires an aggressive approach.”
Minister Padarath said his Ministry has spent the past year assessing WASA’s infrastructure needs and working closely with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to meet the necessary requirements.
“We have been working closely with the IDB up to yesterday on this to secure the funding, and therefore we will pursue those projects aggressively post budget.”
He said the funding will be directed towards upgrading water treatment plants and replacing ageing water mains across the country, infrastructure, he said, has contributed to leaks, service disruptions and damage to homes in several communities.
“A number of the main infrastructure projects will get underway post budget, and that will include the treatment plants, mains across the length and breadth of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John said years of inadequate maintenance have contributed to the deterioration of infrastructure nationwide, while maintaining that WASA has been responding to reported leaks and related issues.
“They show up, they will fix, they cover, and you cover with a temporary cover, because they have to give it at least, I think their protocol is maybe 24 to 48 hours to settle. And then they see if there’s anything that happens, as is happening in Maraval. So they would have fixed. It’s not because they didn’t respond; they did. And then the whatever emerged again, the issue, and they returned again.”
Minister Padarath said the projects will be implemented on a phased basis, with upgrades to water treatment plants and water mains across both Trinidad and Tobago.