On Friday, October 29, 2010, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding officially broke ground at the Kitson Town construction worksite in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Water and Housing, Horace Chang, the Minister for Youth, Olivia Grange, and many local elected officials. This symbolic event marked the launch of construction at Kitson Town, a rural area of 10,000 inhabitants that has been without running water for 30 years.
On this project, VINCI Construction Grands Projets will complete the first phase of a €51-million contract designed to upgrade drinking water distribution and treatment in Kingston. The project calls for the installation of 19 km of pipes ranging from 200 to 600 mm in diameter and the upgrade of 2 drinking-water-treatment plants, namely, Constant Spring (80,000 m3/day) and Seaview (20,000 m3/day). WMI, a subsidiary of VINCI Construction Grands Projets, has been mandated with the task of optimizing technical and commercial water management, including installing over 70,000 meters.
The Jamaican Water Supply Improvement Project (JWSIP) represents a total investment of over $200 million. It is the most ambitious hydraulic project undertaken by the country’s National Water Commission.