Nassau, Bahamas – The Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) signed a contract $5.6 million with Island Site Development late last week to extend and improve water supply to South Andros. The contract signing follows a seven month tender process that allowed all companies to bid on the work.

“This project will bring much needed service improvements to an area that has been calling for relief for decades,” said General Manager of WSC, Glen Laville. “We are very pleased to be able to get this work started as well as the other components of this loan program to improve quality of service for our family islands.”

The project is part of the recently approved $41 Million program partially funded by $28 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of The Bahamas. The overall program covers over 100 miles of water mains and more than 3,000 service connections, andwill also include water improvements to the islands of Cat Island, Crooked Island, Eleuthera, Long Island, San Salvador and some New Providence areas. 

The South Andros contract will allow for the installation of over 20 miles of water mains and six hundred service connections impacting all communities from Congo Town to Mars Bay. Water supply will be provided by a desalination plant under a separate contract to be tendered prior to completion of the water works. The South Andros works are expected to take approximately twenty-five months to complete with emphasis being placed on a high quality, climate-resilient installation.

Water and Sewerage Chairman, Mr. Leslie Miller said, “The Corporation is happy to have the funding available to award this contract and have the work completed. When completed, the residents of South Andros from Congo Town to Mars Bay will see a huge improvement in the quality of water.”

The Corporation has advised that over time, the public can expect to hear about more work being done by Water and Sewerage. As works are nearing completion in New Providence, an award is anticipated shortly for work to commence on San Salvador. Additionally, a contract for Engineering Services will be awarded before the end of November 2016 to provide construction supervision and other related technical services under the CDB loan program.