Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas has confirmed that Antigua and Barbuda is set to receive a US$60 million grant from China to support a national re-piping initiative aimed at modernising the country’s aging water infrastructure.

The funding, which was secured following a diplomatic visit by Prime Minister Gaston Browne to China, is expected to accelerate efforts to replace deteriorating underground pipelines that have contributed to chronic water loss and inconsistent supply.

Nicholas welcomed the support as a “tremendous fillip” but warned that the re-piping process remains a long-term undertaking.

“This project will be a significant help, but it’s certainly not the end of the road,” he said. “We have to go route by route, community by community.”

The re-piping initiative comes at a time when water production in Antigua has exceeded nine million gallons per day, yet much of that water is lost due to leaks in outdated pipe networks—some dating back more than half a century.

Many of the worst-affected areas include urban centres such as St John’s and rural districts like Villa and Point, where the Minister said full pipe replacement is urgently needed. In some cases, he noted, pipes are so old that the surrounding earth itself is helping hold them together.

“There are pipelines in St John’s that are only still functioning because the ground has formed a natural band around them,” he said.

The government views the Chinese-funded project as a key component of its broader water resilience strategy, which includes increasing storage capacity, expanding desalination, and introducing smart monitoring technologies to reduce wastage and improve efficiency.

While the $60 million grant represents a significant milestone, officials caution that full system renewal will take years of sustained investment and planning.