Some five thousand residents of Egypt, New Village and surrounding community of Point Fortin are to benefit from an improved water supply with the re-commission of the La Fortune Water Treatment Plant which first started operations in 2006 and was shut down in 2013 and left to rundown. We saw the introduction of the desalination plant and rerouting of the previous water supply areas such Siparia, Penal etc. etc. which caused some challenges to the Point Fortin community on a hold.
Speaking at the re-commissioning ceremony on Saturday was the Member of Parliament for Point Fortin, Kennedy Richards Jr. who said that with the re-commission of this facility it is expected to put an additional half million gallons of water in the pipes of the residents. Mr. Richards went on to tell the residents of the other area such as Chatham, Grandville, and Icacos that their water situation will be a thing of the pass in the near future.
Also speaking at the re-commissioning ceremony, Minister of Public Utilities, Marvin Gonzales, who said, three months ago on his first visit he was shocked that the plant was allowed to run down. He said the only persons working at the facility was the Security Guards. Minister Gonzales shortly after assuming office realized there was a short fall in the water supply in the country because facilities like the La Fortune Water Treatment Plant was allowed to run down. He went on to say over the next two years WASA will be looking at infrastructure so it can transmit and distribute water through out the country.
The Minister said when he pick up his appointment WASA was plague with mismanagement and corruption and is costing the country million of dollars.
The project was completed at a cost of around two million dollars and completed with in budget. The Minister also thanked the team who worked on the refurbishment of the plant.
