Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath has acknowledged that while 2025 has seen significant progress since the government took office, challenges in the sector remain.
Speaking from his office as the year comes to a close, Minister Padarath emphasised that communities expect, and deserve, more. As such, the government will prioritise improvements to the water supply in 2026.
“2026, what we are looking at doing is putting three desalination plants, one in Mayaro, one in Moruga Tableland, and one in Charlotteville. What this will do is that it will ease the reliance on the river, as well as the Hillsborough Dam in Tobago. And therefore, once they have access to their own desalination plants in those areas that I’ve mentioned before, it will free up water for other areas.”
The Minister also said there will be other major infrastructural projects in the water sector beginning in 2026. He noted that the country has not undergone a major infrastructure upgrade in the water sector for over 60 years and assured that addressing this long-overdue modernisation, along with tackling water wastage caused by ageing pipelines, will be a key priority moving forward.
“The dilapidated condition of our pipelines and mains has caused us to lose a significant amount of potable water. So, half of the problem is water production, but the other half I always say is water distribution. Therefore, curbing and mitigating the loss of potable water on the pipelines is something we will be focusing on in 2026 in terms of a number of projects across the length and breadth of the country.”
Minister Padarath says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has taken a very hands-on approach with respect to the desalination plants in terms of reviewing timelines and giving the Ministry of Public Utilities deadlines for delivery.