Squatters’ delay of port project resolved

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Minister of Tourism, Charles “Max” Fernandez. (File photo)
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The delay of a cruise tourism project at the port recently resumed after a particular delay.

Global Ports Holding (GPH) signed an agreement with the government of Antigua and Barbuda in February 2019.

It now operates the port, and commenced work on the US$2 million upgrades of Heritage Quay which include new retail and dining facilities.

However, it ran into some challenges with completing the expansion of the port.

Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez addressed the particular issue of lands occupied by squatters as the cause of further delay in the expansion project.

He said that the matter has reached the resolution stage, and work that GPH desired to recommence last year is expected to continue soon.

“Global Ports wanted to start since last year. The problem is that the land that they are supposed to build on, we are now in a position to get everybody out. There were some people there that were squatting, we had to find locations for them to move to rather than just putting them in the street,” Fernandez explained in an interview.

The Tourism Minister also gave a timeline as to when these works will be completed from the designs, drawings and other material already in hand.

He stated that the timeline will resume before the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2022.

“I spoke, just this afternoon to Minister Weston, and he assured me that we would be able to close everything off within another week or two. Once that’s completed, they will fence the place and they are ready to go.” Fernandez said.

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