The planned replacement of water pipes along Jeremiah Gumbs Highway has experienced weeks of delays due to discussions over the installation of electricity lines along the same route.
Racks of C900 – high-strength, corrosion-resistant PVC piping which will be used to strengthen Anguilla’s water distribution network – began to arrive on island in early February.
However, water minister Kyle Hodge, speaking during a government press conference on 13 April, said the government had delayed issuing the procurement notice for the project.
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The reason, he explained, was to make sure that proper consultations had taken place with power company ANGLEC on its potential participation.
He said the firm had “expressed strong interest in participating”, adding that “coordination is therefore ongoing regarding their inclusion”.
“We received the final set of dimensions from ANGLEC last week Friday which now allows us to finalise the key elements of the design and complete the procurement documentation,” he said.
Emergency procurement
Hodge said the required documentation would be completed and submitted to the Public Procurement Office for the 14 April deadline before two-week emergency procurement process begins.
Works along the Jeremiah Gumbs Highway from Little Harbour to the intersection with Blowing Point Road will be the first to begin, the water minister said.
This will be followed by work from JW Proctors on Albert Lake Drive along Long Path Road toward Sandy Hill which, he said, represents another critical area in need of upgrade.
Beyond these, the government has identified two additional priority areas – replacing the transmission line from Crocus Bay and introducing a solar component to support water production.
“At this stage, we are focused on completing the necessary analysis and costing so that these projects are ready for implementation, providing that funds are available,” Hodge said.
He added that the new Department of Water Services building is under construction and progressing well, along with a storage building.
An ageing system
In August 2025, Hodge said the replacement of Anguilla’s ageing water distribution infrastructure would cost about EC$50 million.
According to earlier reports, 80% of the island’s water supply was being lost to leaks and to unauthorised connections – a situation the water minister described as “very stressful”.
In the government’s latest budget, EC$9 million was committed to cover trenching, pipe procurement and the repiping across the “worst zones” in Anguilla.
The UK government has also committed grants totalling £1 million to be spent during the current budget year for the project.
During a press conference in February, Hodge said he spoke with Rommel Hughes, former CEO of the Water Corporation of Anguilla, to review lessons learned from previous network upgrades.
“One of the key takeaways in that meeting is the importance for strong project oversight and proper installation techniques,” he said.
He said that to guarantee that the installation is done correctly, the department will be deploying dedicated project managers to monitor each stage of the works.
