The West End Development Corporation (Wedco) has denied allegations that Dockyard is unprepared for the vast amount of waste generated by the mega cruise ships scheduled to arrive next spring.

The CEO of government quango Wedco, Andrew Dias, told the Mid-Ocean News that despite "difficulty getting started", a new, upgraded waste treatment facility will be completed by April 2009, when the first two Panamax cruise ships carrying a total of around 6,000 passengers and 4,000 crew will arrive in Dockyard.

Mr. Dias added that construction has "pretty much started" now, and is on track for completion by the time the first mega ships dock in the West End.

Questions on the status of the new waste treatment facility arose this week when the Mid-Ocean News was alerted to the precarious state of the current centre, behind the westernmost ramparts of the Westgate prison, hidden from public view by high stone walls.

A prominent local businessman with interests in Dockyard described the current facility as "an open sewer", questioning whether any upgrades would be ready in time for a tourist influx.

"It's looked like a nuclear waste dump for the past three years," he said. "It is rusting and rotting behind ramparts. This looks like bad news today. Where do we go from here?"

Mr. Dias admitted that construction of the new facility had been delayed, but added that the project is back on track.

"We had difficulty getting started and it was a little slower than expected," he said. "We still expect to be done in April at the latest."

He said that the difficulties stemmed from "contractor stuff, budgeting – the normal things, nothing out of the ordinary."

The new West End Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) will cater to the increased number of tourists in the Dockyard area, as well as serving new housing developments planned for Somerset. The facility is expected to cost an estimated $14 million, on top of the approximate $50-million expense of building a new dock to accommodate the Panamax mega ships.

Mr. Dias believes the current facility, despite being described as "in poor condition with an inherent risk of failure" by architects Conyers and Associates, will last until the planned April upgrade.

"There might be minor things not finished but they will be cosmetic," he said. "I expect it will last until April. We will maintain it as best we can."

Mr. Dias also responded to claims that the current Dockyard waste facility is responsible for waste spotted three miles off Bermuda's West End by a snorkel boat. The Bermudian owner of the boat, who did not want to be named, saw what he describes as "sewage waste" floating at Western Blue Cut, a popular snorkelling spot.

"I saw toilet roll and other waste," he said. "I did not get in the water as the sewage was visible from the boat which was three miles offshore. I do wonder if it is connected to the treatment facility in Dockyard."

Mr. Dias vehemently denied any connection between the waste at Western Blue Cut and the treatment facility.

"That is an impossibility," he said. "We treat everything and nothing goes overboard. It is treated in a borehole; what comes out is clear liquid."

He declined to discuss whether the waste spotted at Western Blue Cut would have come from one of the cruise ships bound for Dockyard.

"That's too difficult to answer," Mr. Dias said. "It would be irresponsible unless someone saw a ship. You would see an enormous cloud around the area if the ship discharged waste."

Mr. Dias explained that the new facility would also consist of the same "trains" visible in the photos above of the current centre – open-air vats resembling large rectangular pools. These trains allow for the biological purification of sewage.

"They can handle very large fluctuations in volume," Mr. Dias said, noting that an influx of tourists in the summer will represent a massive increase in Dockyard's waste. "There will be peaks and troughs throughout the year."

This is not the first time the state of the island's waste facilities has been called into question.

This week, the Mid-Ocean News was contacted by a Somerset-based worker with connections to the Boaz Island waste treatment facility, currently run by the Boaz Island Village Condominium Corporation.

The lifelong West End resident claims the facility is in disrepair, adding that a "putrid stench" can be detected as soon as one steps foot on Boaz Island. "It is overflowing," he added.

Three years ago, Boaz Island was closed off to the public altogether when raw sewage flooded the area. At the time, the spill was described in the Royal Gazette as "potentially lethal", with the Government's Chief Environmental Health Officer warning locals not to even "dip a toe" into area waters.

The problem is not limited to Bermuda's West End. Former Corporation of Hamilton councillor Graeme Outerbridge recently called the capital city's sewage plan into question, labeling it "a disaster waiting to happen". He told the Mid-Ocean News last month that should the pipe carrying Hamilton's raw sewage out to Seabright Outfall spring a leak, the waste would be pumped directly into the sea.

Mr. Outerbridge called for the Corporation to drill into the ground to cover and protect the pipe, but added that the "huge expense" for such a project made it unlikely.