Roadtown, Tortola - Thank you Mr. Speaker; I am grateful for this opportunity to inform this Honourable House on the progress which the Ministry of Health and Social Development continues to make in its efforts to have a brand new 100-ton-per-day incinerator plant assembled and commissioned to serve the people of this Territory.

I am also very pleased to report to this Honourable House that the new incinerator arrived at Port Purcell last Saturday, 17 January at around 4 p.m., and that all of the disassembled components of this much needed equipment were safely transported to Pockwood Pond on Sunday, 18 January.

I myself was at the dock on Saturday to personally witness the arrival of our new incinerator.

The work to assemble and eventually commission the new incinerator will soon begin in earnest, and we are aiming to have everything completed and ready for operation by the third quarter of 2009.

Mr. Speaker: Having obtained Cabinet approval on 10th December 2008, I signed an agreement on behalf of the Government with Crowley Caribbean Services LLC for the shipping of the new incinerator from Mechanicsville, Virginia, USA to Port Purcell. The contract was in the amount of $297,296.00.

On January 19, 2009 the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance signed an  agreement between the Government and the local company Sand Wise Heavy Equipment Limited for transporting the new incinerator from Port Purcell to Pockwood Pond via land and sea, and also to provide crane services during the assembly phase.
The contract sum was in the amount of $108,375.00 for both the transportation and crane services.

Sand Wise began to transport the equipment to Pockwood Pond last Sunday morning, and that they successfully completed their work by the evening of that same day.

Because of the limited space on the compound at the municipal incinerator at Pockwood Pond, the disassembled components of the new incinerator are presently being stored on the Sand Wise property, which is adjacent to the incinerator site. It will remain there until the assembly work begins.

No storage fees are being charged to the Government of the Virgin Islands, and I would like to thank Sand Wise on behalf of the Government and people of the Territory for this.

On January 15, 2009 the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Development signed a petty contract with Newton Construction Limited for the provision of rigging services for the reassembling of the new incinerator at a cost not exceeding $21,626.40.

Further, Consutech will provide supervisory services during the reassembly phase, which is expected to start on Monday, 2 February 2009 and is slated to be completed within 14 days of commencement.

These works do not include the electrical connections or the works associated with the installation of the Scrubber Unit. The Ministry expects that the remainder of the building erection to take place after the reassembly is completed. 

Subsequent to the new incinerator being installed, the related mechanical and electrical works will begin.

Those works would involve the connection of all electrical wires, lights, piping, and machinery that are needed before the new incinerator can be commissioned. That process is expected to last approximately three months, from start to completion.

Mr. Speaker: besides those vital installations, this three-month period will allow the contractor to troubleshoot the system in order to identify and correct any problems that may arise.

No company has yet been contracted to carry out the electrical and mechanical works that would be required.

However, I can confirm that the tender documents were prepared and are now being vetted by the Attorney General Chambers. Based on this timetable, the new incinerator is likely to be commissioned by the third quarter of this year.

Mr. Speaker; I am aware that this project is taking longer to complete than had initially been anticipated.

However, rest assured that the staff of the Ministry of Health and Social Development and the Government as a whole, remain committed and continue to work with tremendous vigour to bring the project to completion.

In closing I must take this opportunity to thank all of the persons (past and present) who have played a role in this most important project. We remain aware of the fact that the volume of solid waste that is generated in our Territory on a daily basis has risen significantly since 1994 when the current 40-ton-per-day incinerator plant was commissioned.

While the new incinerator will hopefully bring a significant improvement, I am aware it is not the ultimate answer to the problem of solid waste disposal. Rest assured of my personal commitment and that of the Government to do all within our power to ensure that these Virgin Islands are kept sanitary and environmentally friendly. I include in this Mr. Speaker the exploring of alternate ways of solid waste management, including recycling.

Thank you Mr. Speaker