The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahama Utility Company (GBUC) has blamed another “disappointing setback” for construction of its $5m reverse osmosis plant on an error by its shipping company.

The Grand Bahama Port Authority-owned water supplier, in a statement, said one of the containers containing the plant’s filtration units has yet to arrive in Grand Bahama because it was not loaded with the others that have now reached the island.

While two of the three containers shipped from Belgium have arrived, GB Utility Company added that “a bill of lading error on the part of the shipping company” meant the third had to be placed on a later voyage and will now arrive during the second week of October.

The shipping company was said to have apologised for the error, which GB Utility said has caused “another major delay in progressing to the final phases of testing and commissioning of the reverse osmosis plant”.

Philcher Grant, GB Utility’s director of operations, said: “This has indeed been a disappointing setback. Our team, along with our contractors Bahamas Hot Mix [BHM], have been working diligently - despite the added challenges of working through a pandemic - to ensure that this critical project would be commissioned as scheduled.

“We know what this means to the Island and, though this particular aspect is beyond our control, we extend apologies to our customers for the further delay.” GB Utility confirmed that the current 25 percent discount for customers without potable water will remain in place until the new plant is fully commissioned, as will free water sites in communities where potable water has not yet been restored.