Rosemarie Sant
Ten years after the idea was first touted, the Water and Sewerage Authority says it will be issuing an invitation for expressions of interest for the construction and operation of a desalination plant in Tobago.
Responding to questions from the GML Enterprise Desk, the authority identified the preferred site as the Cove Industrial Estate but did not go into detail on how soon the expression of interest would go out.
CEO of the Desalination Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Desalcott) John Thompson told the GML Enterprise Desk the company was not actively involved in the discussions for a desalination plant for Tobago at “this point in time” but there was an interest.
He said the Cove Industrial Estate was an ideal location since it has a power plant, was close to the sea and close to the water mains so that the water could be easily pumped into WASA’s mains for distribution.
Desalcott currently owns and operates the desalination plant at Pt Lisas, which was constructed on a build, own and operate basis and currently produces just about 50 million gallons of water a day. The plant transforms sea water into potable water.
Thompson, who is also president of the Caribbean Desalination Association, said many countries went the route of desalination plants to boost the water supply in times of drought.
The plant size which was discussed sometime ago for Tobago is estimated to produce five million gallons of water a day and Thompson said that size plant would take about 18 months to build and brought into operation. He said t if all the necessary Town and Country Planning and Environmental approvals were fast tracked, the plant should become operational in Tobago by the end of 2017.
He estimates the cost for construction and operationalising the plant to be at just about US$50 million. The desalination plant at Pt Lisas and a smaller one in Pt Fortin are operated by Desalcott on the basis of build, own and operate.
This means that WASA only pays for water produced by the plant and not for the cost of construction of the plant. Companies on the industrial estate also subsidise the cost of the water paying a higher rate than that which WASA charges domestic customers. Thompson said over the past few years, desalinated water had become “progressively cheaper.”
However, he said the cost of the water to Tobago would be dependent on the authorities, who need to determine whether the cost of the water would be subsidised. He said the authorities could determine whether companies on the Cove Industrial Estate and hotels which were heavily dependent on water would pay a higher rate for the water than the domestic rate.
In December last year Chief Secretary Orville London said the Tobago House of Assembly had been in discussions with WASA to discuss the utility’s water plans for Tobago. Several water wells have been drilled in Tobago and WASA had expected that commissioning of those wells would bring an additional four million gallons of water a day into the system.
However, a harsh dry season has taken its toll on the water supply to Tobago. Prime Minister Keith Rowley said even the commissioning of the wells had not brought the level of predictability required. A harsh dry season between last year and into this year has taken its toll on Tobago with WASA having to deliver daily truck-borne supplies to hotels, businesses and consumers.
President of the Tobago Tourism and Hotel Association, Chris James, had said because of the situation some hotels had even experienced cancellations.