The Ministry of Housing, Transport, Water and Works has been granted more than $264 million for its Rural Water Supply Project in the 2007/08 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives.

The project, which is funded by the Inter-American Bank and the Government of Jamaica, aims to improve the basic sanitary conditions by increasing the coverage of potable water and sanitation services in poor rural areas as defined on the Jamaica Poverty Map (JPM).

The targets that have been set for the 2007/08 financial year include the completion of office buildings for the Cotterwood Water Supply and Pamphret/Botany Bay; White Horses Water Supply Schemes; the construction of 15 sanitation solutions; civil works contract for the Gravel Hill Water Supply Scheme; and the completion of Mile Gully/Warwick Castle Water Supply Scheme.

The project will also provide training for beneficiaries in the management of their water supply systems and institutional strengthening of the Community Water Organisations (CWO).

Up to February 2007, the project has recorded a number of achievements including the delivery of pipes and fittings for the Pamphret/Botany Bay and White Horses Water Supply Schemes.

In addition, the Cotterwood Water Supply Scheme construction contract was commissioned; beneficiaries were trained in the community water organisations and civil works were substantially completed on the Pamphret/Botany Bay and White Horses construction contract. Computers and equipment were also purchased for the Project Implementation Unit (PIU).

The project was implemented in 2002 with the objective of providing house connections and individual solutions for the disposal of waste water to communities averaging approximately 4,000 inhabitants each; to design, construct, install and supervise water systems and individual sanitation schemes for communities; to establish an education programme in rural communities in order to promote rational and efficient use of water; provide technical training for the CWOs; and market the characteristics of the project and the requisites for participation.

In addition, it will provide consultancy services to the Rural Water Supply Programme, train ministry officials in community and private sector development, as well as design a monitoring system for the CWOs and their operations.

The project, which started in April 2002, was initially slated to end in December 2006. It has since been rescheduled to end in February 2008.