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#BudgetDebate2019 | PM says corporate area water woes to end in a month

Published:Tuesday | March 19, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Prime Minister Andrew Holness making his contribution to the Budget Debates - Rudolph Brown

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says in another month, the corporate area water woes should come to an end when the major project to repair broken lines on the Mandela Highway is scheduled to be completed.

For the past six months, residents in the corporate area have been suffering because of an inconsistent water supply.

That's because water is being taken from other systems and redistributed in the corporate area.

In his three-hour contribution to the Budget Debate in Parliament today, Holness said the contractors who are repairing the pipeline are on schedule and the National Water Commission (NWC) is monitoring.

In the meantime, Holness ​said the NWC is currently losing 48 per cent of potential revenue.

"The NWC in its present form is a fiscal risk," Holness said.

He also said the NWC will have to make significant investments.

​"They have to spend almost US$60 million to replace three lines in Kingston. They have to find US$600 million to repair water mains and sewage mains in downtown Kingston," Holness said.

However, Holness said it will cost an additional US$3 billion for the NWC to improve its systems islandwide.

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