Road Town ferry terminal getting upgrades
The Road Town ferry terminal. (PHOTO CREDIT: Andre ‘Shadow’ Dawson)
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Works Anthony McMaster has said upgrades being are done to the ferry terminal in Road Town nearly complete.
According to McMaster, the added development to the facility includes more floor space, a shaded area for passengers, and more Customs and Immigration booths.
“We are basically rebuilding from the devastation of the hurricanes and we are also taking the opportunity to modernize certain areas to improve the services offered to the public,” McMaster told BVI News.
The Road Town Ferry Terminal was scheduled to officially reopen by late this month.
“Whether or not it would meet the end of March I can’t say. But I know they are progressing well, so if they are not able to meet late March, I am pretty certain they will meet early April.”
Where’s the money coming from?
In the meantime, there are conflicting reports about how the project is being funded.
It was said the repairs and additional development were being financed through the $65 million loan that government has borrowed from the Caribbean Development Bank.
However, McMaster said that is not the case.
“As far as I am aware, the funding that is being executed in that building is coming from the Ports. Unless somebody knows something different to me, I am not aware that it is coming from the $65 million. To my knowledge, it is coming from the Ports’ coffers,” he said.
He was unable to confirm the overall cost of the project.
Mayflower
With regards to the vessel Mayflower, that is currently perched on its side next to the ferry terminal, McMaster said talks are still being held with its owners to have the vessel removed.
McMaster said following initial discussions with the owners, a barge attempted to remove the vessel. However, the company did not have the right equipment for the job.
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Did not see or hear any “local” work man or woman on that site. Hope I am wrong though and there were some.
Only 1 comment on such a positive story. Wow. SMH!
Will this upgrade include insurance? There seems to be this trend of building ports of entry that aren’t insured. Just asking for a friend.
West end ferry dock please!!
So let me get this right Anthony McMMaster doesn’t know when the facility will be finished, ( hopes it will be April? ) He doesn’t know the budget / cost of the improvements, he also doesn’t seem to even know where the money is coming from! Well done PS full house of incompetence Bingo the “No Direction Party” trained you well…. You can do better than this get a grip please too many projects advance in a haphazard and lazy manner – let’s hope the correct quality has been specified and not just passed to the contractor to choose the cheapest products as usual…..
So from the article above – the PS doesn’t know when the facility will be delivered? , how much it will cost? and where the money is coming from! ?the “No Direction Party” NDP continues to underwhelm us all….much of the same as usual.
So a fairly simple project like this and the PS in charge doesn’t know 1.How much it will cost 2. When it will be completed and 3. Where the money is coming from !!!! and the NDP wonder why the UK needs to step in and oversee their incompetence at delivering projects? If only our government could deliver one small project on time and in budget that would be a miracle to behold!
Any improvement on the ferry dock will not look right until the Mayflower is out of there!