APUA water division workers on the job/APUA Photo
Antigua Water Rates Set to Increase to Fund Water Expansion
Water Minister Melford Nicholas has announced that water rates in Antigua and Barbuda will increase to support a loan from the Antigua Commercial Bank. The loan aims to fund crucial water infrastructure improvements to meet the growing demand for water services in the country. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
“During the course of last month, I had certainly presented to the cabinet that in order for us to meet the ongoing demands for water services, one of the things that we had to do is to remove the deficit that existed in terms of the production and the sale of water,” Minister Nicholas stated.
Commercial customers can expect an increase in water rates starting March 1st, with residential customers likely to see a similar adjustment shortly after.
Minister Nicholas emphasized the need to address the existing deficit in water production and sales to meet the rising demand for water services.
“I did intimate this when we had the launch of the second plant at Fort James that at some point in time during the new year, we would have to deal with closing this particular gap,” Minister Nicholas explained.
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The cabinet approved the plan to increase water rates, allowing the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) to implement the changes.
“The cabinet did give its consent and I certainly did ask the management team to move towards implementation of a change in water rates, commercial prices for water,” Minister Nicholas said.
The funding mechanism for the Bethesda plant takes into account the need for a change in the balance of the equation, with the increased rates expected to help fund the additional 3.2 million gallons of water per day.
The partnership with the 7 Seas Water Group is also expected to bring an additional 4 million gallons of water, further boosting the water supply.
“What I’m actually saying to the public is with the implementation of the 7 Seas Water Group, they are purporting to bring combined an additional 4 million gallons of water,” Minister Nicholas stated.
“Once we’re in sight of being able to complete before the end of this year a further 3.2 million gallons of water per day from the Desal plant combined with our existing capacity of approximately 7.5 to 8 million gallons per day, we will have more than enough water to satisfy the current and the expected demands that are going to be placed for water.”
Minister Nicholas reassured the public that the government is committed to ensuring there is sufficient water in the system before implementing the rate increase, ensuring that residents are not asked to accept higher rates without the necessary water supply to justify it.
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