The Government will be undertaking several projects, valued at more than J$400 million, to improve access to water in Portland.

Matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, provided details of the projects at a disaster preparedness town hall meeting, held at the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio on May 9.

“This year, we are investing J$342 million in the Windsor Castle distribution system. We are in procurement for the Crystal Spring system in West Portland at a cost of J$60.8 million, and we will execute the Cascade section in West Portland fo rJ$19 million and the Nonsuch in Eastern Portland for J$26.6 million,” Samuda informed.

The minister noted that the investments will improve the residents’ “lived experience in and out of disasters”.

“It is a critical investment in your water resilience to reduce the impact of disaster, certainly on water supply. Now is not the time for talking; it is the time for doing, so we are investing behind what we intend to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Samuda said the Government is building the capacity to respond to natural disasters and “we are ensuring that we build the capacity within our agencies to have the information to communicate that information and to respond when there are challenges”.

“Last year, we invested heavily in water trucks as a response to that drought. This year, we are investing in more water trucks, but I want to assure citizens that this year we would have invested more in our distribution water network than any other year in the last 30 years in Jamaica,” he noted.

Senator Samuda added that the Government was building the resilience to the droughts that are being experienced now and the “droughts that we know will come.”

“We are at risk from disasters every day as a small island developing state, but this Government is prioritising risk mitigation, it is prioritising response that put you at the centre, and it is ensuring that all ministries work together to ensure that we mitigate and that when issues exist, the response is there,” he said.