completed.

An interim report on the waste treatment facility in Devonshire, released this week, confirmed that initial tests will begin later this year.

And full operational trials and commissioning will take place next Spring.

The report, released by the Works and Engineering Ministry, stated that work has been "progressing at a steady rate'' with some 70 percent of the structural concrete work completed.

It also noted that a large number of Bermudians were working on that portion of the project which has been contracted out to the Danish firm E. Pihl & Son and sub-contracted to Gringley Construction.

The other principal contractor, Von Roll Ltd. of Switzerland, it said, had been active on the site since last October, installing "the complex support steelwork and components comprising the furnaces and steam boilers''.

Work on the incinerator's concrete chimney of more than 200 feet was also reported to be progressing, with staircases, platforms and navigation lights to be included.

Marine work involving the laying of undersea pipelines to provide cooling water to the plant is almost completed. And construction of the underground station next to North Shore Road, to house the pumping equipment, is underway.

"Site activity is expected to become even more intense throughout the remainder of the year as the civil engineering and building infrastructure are brought to a conclusion and the intricate installation of the electrical systems and computerised controls proceed,'' said a Ministry spokesman.