Water Minister, Matthew Samuda, says the initial phase of engineering for the new Hermitage Dam in Kingston has been completed.

Mr. Samuda gave the update during a leaders in Real Estate Breakfast at the Pegasus Hotel in the parish on Thursday.

The new dam is part of efforts to make Kingston and St. Andrew water-resilient and drought-resistant.

The Minister noted that completion of the transaction design and the public investment appraisal process will take about a year.

He said other legacy investments aimed at achieving water resilience include work on the Mona reservoir.