Contact: Prime Minister’s Press Secretary

According to Mr Pierre, the facility will be operated by Caribbean Energy Resources Incorporated and the project will produce gypsum building blocks and roofing tiles for export markets in the USA, Latin America and the Caribbean. Raw materials will be imported from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the USA and will also include certain types of municipal waste generated in St Lucia.

The minister says the project will employ some 200 people of all skill levels from Choiseul and the wider catchment area of the South of the island. A jetty would also be constructed in the Industry area of Choiseul for the berthing of ocean-going vessels and barges transporting gypsum, limestone and petroleum coke, as well as for loading containers of the finished product in markets in the USA, South America and the Caribbean.

The minister says approximately 10% of the product from tbe plant will be utilized in St. Lucia to support low cost housing. According to Mr Pierre, there will also be a power element to the project as it will be self-sufficient in energy production and requirement. Both steam and power generation will be produced by the incineration of the raw materials at a power plan to be constructed alongside the Gypsum Plant at Delcer.

It is estimated that the plant will produce an excess supply of approximately nine megawatts of power per hour at a voltage of 66KVA, which is the voltage of the national grid and which is expected to be sold to LUCELEC.