Last Updated on March 20, 2024, 12:38 PM AST by Anthony Morris
St Kitts and Nevis: PM Dr Terrance Drew announces the installation of the Solar Powered Desalination Plant donated by the United Arab Emirates(UAE) to St Kitts and Nevis.
This is one of the steps that will lead to a sustainable island state agenda for the country. The plant will be installed at the Canada Industrial Estate. The government of St Kitts and Nevis held a traditional ceremony at the construction site on 18 March 2024, before the project commenced.
The plant is expected to be completed by June 2024. The construction will be on 4 acres of land, out of which only 1 acre of land will be utilized for the building project. The rest of the land will be preserved for future plant installation. The government of St Kitts and Nevis will provide the connecting pipelines and the electrical connections to the electricity grid.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, in collaboration with the UAE—Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund ( UAE-CREF), have created plants capable of generating 12 cubic meters of fresh potable drinking water every hour.
The desalination plant can produce up to 76,000 gallons of water daily. This initiative will eradicate water scarcity and strengthen the region’s resilience to climate change impacts.
Konris Maynard, the Minister of Public Infrastructure, expressed deep gratitude to the UAE. The bilateral partnership between the UAE and St Kitts and Nevis is the reason for the funding and installation of the solar-powered desalination project.
According to the water service department, raw water will be collected from two beach cells and pumped to the reverse osmosis plant through a 4-inch water line. The rejected water or super concentrated salt water will be pumped out of the sea through a 4-inch line with a diffuser at the end.
The freshwater will be pumped through a 4-inch line to the existing water network to supply either the Canada industrial site or Keys village.
Further,to it PM Drew added that St Kitts and Nevis to become a sustainable island state, the island has to achieve water security as it is the most crucial factor for the survivability.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
