May 23, 2011 No. 16/11-BD CDB TO SUPPORT MONTSERRAT POWER PROJECT The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is to provide a loan equivalent to USD 2.5 million to the Government of Montserrat to build a permanent power station in Montserrat. This project will enable Montserrat Utilities Limited to provide an efficient, secure and reliable electricity service, and will facilitate increased activity in the productive sectors that would stimulate economic growth in the medium term. CDB will also provide the Government of Montserrat with a grant equivalent to USD 364,170 for use in financing specified technical assistance components. This includes development of an Environment, Health and Safety Management System, and undertaking a Cost of Service and tariff Study to provide Montserrat Utilities Limited with an efficient pricing mechanism and rate structure for all categories of customers in the electricity and water segments of the business. Only 40% of the island's land mass in the north, considered the safe zone, is habitable as a result of volcanic activity which started in 1995. The destruction of the permanent power station in the mid to late 1990s forced the electric utility to operate a number of high-speed containerised generating sets to meet the electricity demand. These containerised sets are inadequate to support the physical and economic development planned by the Government of Montserrat for the medium term. The new power station is to be built at Brades Estates.