BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Government has signed a US$12.4 million loan agreement and a US$300,000 grant agreement with the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) to finance its Country Assistance Programme.
This is the first time the Government has received loan and grant financing from the CDF. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and the CDF’s Chief Executive Officer, Ronald R. Soomer, signed the agreements on Tuesday.
The loan funds will be used to co-finance activities required to support the Reduce, ReReuse, Recycle Climate Resilience Wastewater Systems Project, also known as the 3R CReWS Project. This project is being funded by a US$39.39 million grant from the Green Climate Fund.
The 3R-CREWs project will serve as a practical demonstration for climate-resilient water and wastewater management. Through the enhancement of wastewater treatment, treated wastewater will be reused, recharging aquifers. The grant funding from the CDF will support the Barbados Water Authority’s project management capacity.
The Barbados Water Authority, responsible for the overall financial management and implementation of the program, is expected to execute the project over two years.
The CDF’s contribution to the project will directly support the aquifer recharge and renewable energy infrastructure components. More specifically, under the CDF funding arrangement, 9.0 kilometers of the pipeline will be installed to transport treated wastewater from the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant at Lakes Folly, St. Michael, to provide water to farmers for agricultural purposes.
The CDF loan funds will also be used to replace approximately 0.65 kilometers of sewage force main from the River Lift Station to the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant, install backup generators at lift stations, and install one megawatt of solar photovoltaic systems at the Belle Plantation, including preparing the site.
CDF has a mandate to support regional cohesion by providing technical and financial assistance to CARICOM Member States in several priority areas, including environmental resilience and climate action.
According to the CDF, the contribution is a significant milestone, as it is the first funded project in Barbados. It sees itself as a key partner of the Government of Barbados in urgently “mobilizing much-needed climate finance” to address critical vulnerabilities. “We stand ready to support the Government with its national climate resilience agenda,” the CDF said.
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