The West End Development Company's new sewage plant opened at the beginning of the month allowing for more than double its current capacity.

"With the expansion and further development of Dockyard we didn't want to have a plant that was built for current needs," said Wedco general manager Andrew Dias.

"It needs to have the ability to grow which is why the new system has such a wide range."

The old sewage system had capacity of 180,000 gallons. The new waste water treatment at Sallyport will be able to process 500,000 gallons a day with a potential capacity of one million gallons.

Wedco chairman Walter Lister said: "(The sewage system) is a great process. One of the reasons we had to include it is because we have two mega ships coming in each week and we have to accommodate both of these ships at once."

According to Wedco's Annual Report 2009, the facility is the most significant improvement to Dockyard's infrastructure in recent years. It will also house Wedco staff offices on the first level.

The sewage system is also the "single, biggest environmental improvement" as waste is not dumped overboard, Mr. Dias added.

The new plant will be critical in handling the increased demands of visiting cruise ships. Dockyard received 78 cruise ships between April and December of 2008. The number increased to 117 regular callers and 13 occasional callers this year, said Mr. Dias.

Dockyard welcomed 278,385 passengers and crew this year up from 200,900 in 2008.

Two mega cruise ships each carried approximately 3,500 passengers and crew.

To improve security, Wedco has installed more closed circuit cameras and restricted traffic flow to the cruise ship terminals.