High-tech sewage plant ‘coming’ with climate finance deal

The government is preparing to break ground on a state-of-the-art South Coast sewage treatment plant, funded by an internationally recognised debt-for-climate swap that will channel millions into water infrastructure without increasing the national debt, the prime minister announced on Friday.

Speaking at the reopening of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, Prime Minister Mia Mottley confirmed that the deal — hailed as Latin America and the Caribbean’s most innovative climate finance transaction — will generate US$8m (BDS$16m) annually for five years for the Barbados Water Authority, without adding a penny to the country’s debt burden.

“We will get that package on the South Coast sewage treatment plant and the surplus to the Water Authority without adding a single cent to Barbados’s debt. It is the equivalent of everybody in here getting a second house or first house without having to add a single cent to their debt,” Mottley said.

The new plant will treat wastewater to the tertiary level and provide reclaimed water for agriculture and aquifer replenishment.

“That treated water would be allowed to replenish our aquifers and will be used as well to carry water to St Philip so that irrigation for certain types of agriculture can be undertaken to enhance our food security,” she said.

Mottley tied the announcement to the broader symbolism of the Graeme Hall reopening, positioning it as proof that Barbados is not only committed to biodiversity but is actively delivering climate solutions.

“We in this country are prepared to walk the walk and not just talk the talk,” she said.

The financing model builds on a 2021 blue bond and debt-for-nature swap structure facilitated with The Nature Conservancy and the Inter-American Development Bank. Mottley said a similar structure will help finance the newly proposed Barbados Nature Conservancy Trust, which will manage national green spaces through local and international partnerships. (SZB)