Italian-Funded Desalination Plant Bequia
The island of Bequia is currently grappling with a critical water emergency, prompting government officials to urgently prioritize the reactivation of a long-delayed desalination project. With severe water shortages currently affecting multiple islands in the Grenadines, the Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA) is shifting its focus to secure vital relief for residents.
The push for a desalination plant on the island has been in the works for several years. In June 2020, CWSA Chief Executive Officer Garth Saunders announced that engineers had completed designs for a new facility in Port Elizabeth, though the project was awaiting funding for implementation at the time.
By 2021, the construction of the Bequia desalination plant was highlighted as one of 25 transformative investment projects initiated in the national budget. These infrastructure projects were designed to stimulate short-term economic activity, create jobs, and address the Grenadines’ economic and health vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite these early plans, the project has faced significant setbacks. During a recent live radio broadcast, Minister of Health and Wellness Daniel Cummings expressed deep frustration over the prolonged delay of an Italian-funded desalination plant. According to Cummings, the Italian government offered the comprehensive initiative to the nation more than seven years ago.
The stalled project was designed to treat seawater and make it readily available to the people of Bequia, complete with the construction of vital storage facilities and distribution lines. “For whatever reason that project has not taken off the ground, and it is a crying shame,” Cummings stated, emphasizing that the plant could have been successfully producing water for the island for several years by now.
Now, facing a severe emergency, immediate action is being taken. Minister Cummings confirmed that the CWSA is actively pursuing the stalled Italian-funded project as a short-term priority. This urgent reactivation effort is part of a broader emergency strategy to quickly establish functioning desalination plants across most of the islands, aiming to “get some water going” and provide immediate, life-saving relief to the residents of Bequia