Construction of food processing complex starts this year — Premier
The government is set to begin construction on a long-awaited food processing complex later this year, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has announced.
Speaking during his recent Territorial Address, Premier Wheatley confirmed that the designs for the new facility are well advanced and that “construction is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of this year.”
The new Agriculture and Fisheries Complex will provide vital infrastructure for food producers across the territory. According to the Premier, it will support the territory’s long-term goals for food security, economic diversification, and resilience in agriculture and fisheries.
The project is being led by the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA), which, in early 2025, signed a contract with Trojan Design and Development Ltd to manage its design and construction. The RDA has outlined that the facility will feature an abattoir, a fish processing unit, and dedicated storage and distribution sections for farm and seafood products. Administrative and technical office spaces will also be included.
Premier Wheatley described the project as part of the government’s wider strategy to improve local food systems and reduce reliance on imports. “We have developed comprehensive plans to build a reservoir to serve the farming community of Paraquita Bay, providing essential water resources to boost agricultural production,” he stated.
The food processing complex also aligns with the Virgin Islands Food Security and Sustainability Act 2022. Junior Minister for Agriculture Dr Karl Dawson previously said the complex is crucial for connecting producers with buyers. “We do not want a system where our farmers and fishers, in addition to producing the products that they are responsible for, now have to go and make individual arrangements with restaurants or the supermarkets,” he stated.
Additional support measures are also underway. The Premier said the government is working to finalise policies on grants and water access for food producers. “Several initiatives aimed at assisting and empowering food producers are under development, and will be implemented soon,” he added.
These include financial assistance, training in animal and plant health, container and vertical farming, and access to microloans for farmers and fishers.
The new facility is expected to modernise food processing in the Virgin Islands and replace infrastructure damaged by the 2017 hurricanes. According to the RDA, the project is expected to conclude by February 2027.
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This is not needed or wanted. There is no capacity to produce enough food at this time to need such a complex. This is an obvious attempt to divert tax payer dollars into a massively overprice project that will result on lots of misapropriation of funds and kickbacks to all of the usual friends and family. He has no shame at all!!!!
You all are the same ones saying the government is doing nothing and anything they try to do, it’s wrong. It’s clear you didn’t read the story, just the headline. We had a Fisheries Complex before and it worked very well and it will work again. Politics should not be in everything, stop it!
Expensive Concrete box coming up . Taxes we’ve got to find away to spend it all .
fix the roads
These guys just want a theoretical project to run their campaign slogans on, when they call snap elections. In reality, we do not have the money to properly establish and sustain such an endeavor. S!0wW@nde and his A$$C!0wn Brigade have started their reelection campaign. We in trouble, Buddy