Was the asphalt plant a bad investment?
The state-owned asphalt plant. (GIS photo)
Questions are mounting over the government’s investment in a new asphalt plant, as potholes and deteriorating roads continue to frustrate motorists and residents across the territory.
The plant was acquired in 2023 and was touted as a solution to many of the road challenges the community is enduring. But during the January 13 sitting of the House, Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn suggested the facility has been more of a liability than a solution.
“Something is going on with this asphalt plant. Because sometimes the plant is down more than it’s up. We need to try to get it addressed so that we can get the roads looking in a decent and proper manner. I want to encourage a minister to try to get that plant working again so that we can get the roads patched up and people can travel across the roads properly,” Walwyn told the House as he bemoaned road conditions in his district.
Walwyn’s remarks underscore growing public frustration over frequent breakdowns at the government-owned asphalt plant, which critics say have left road repairs lagging and taxpayers questioning the wisdom of the investment.
When the government announced the acquisition of a new asphalt production plant in early 2020, it was widely touted as a breakthrough for local road repair efforts. At the time, Works Minister Kye Rymer said the new plant would enable quicker, more cost-effective maintenance of BVI roads, particularly in the wake of infrastructure damage caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The facility was formally acquired in 2023, with the new plant commissioned and described by officials as a significant milestone in domestic road paving capacity. Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley and Public Works officials highlighted the plant’s potential to reduce dependence on imported asphalt and to stretch limited road maintenance resources.
Before commissioning, government figures also suggested that producing asphalt locally would cut the cost of paving a mile of road by roughly two-thirds compared with buying from private providers — a key part of the plant’s original appeal.
Despite early optimism, the plant has faced persistent operational challenges. In 2024, officials acknowledged “teething pains,” with mechanical issues causing inconsistent output and delays in road resurfacing. Reports from community media have suggested periods in which the plant was non-operational for months at a time, further fueling concerns that the facility is struggling to meet its intended purpose.
In March 2025, Minister Rymer defended the investment in the face of opposition questioning, noting that the government acquired the plant for approximately $1.3 million and arguing that it remained cost-effective when combined with private contractor support. He also pointed to the production of asphalt for nearly three miles of roadway in under three weeks as evidence of its utility, while noting the Public Works Department still relies on external expertise to operate the equipment reliably.
For many residents, however, the key issue remains the condition of the roads themselves: potholes, washouts and rough surfaces persist across multiple districts, raising doubts about whether having local asphalt capacity has translated into meaningful improvements in everyday travel.
Copyright 2026 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Was the asphalt plant a bad investment?
The answer is not as simple as yes or no however I feel based on time of purchase till now, we have not gotten value for the money spent on it or to facilitate it.
I would personally have to say, Yes it was a bad investment.
Hard to believe we don’t have the expertise to fix this plant. has to be some other reason
Well looking at the disparity between the return on investment of the plant, the value of the plant and the amount of money your paying to do a length of road. It’s total madness!
Sabotage
Who decided on which asphalt plant we should get? PWD? If so, we found the issue. They cannot do anything!
BVIEC DONT HAVE SABLE POWER FISHBAY IS WHY IT KEEP GOING DOWN.
it wouldnt be a waste if it was actually being put to use…
We used to have a vibrant PWD with its own engineers and functioning plant. What went wrong? Didn’t NDP purchase a plant from China? Kye criticized it as a waste of money and he then bought one too only to do no better. People we have a huge problem. VIP must go…Forward Never, Backwards Ever! One Direction: BACKWARD!
Good investment!!!!! The local that got the supply contract got paid big money and is happy. What do they care if it works.
Job is done. Money is in their hands and kick backs handsed out.
Even though a complete failure better value than giving $5 million to Lorna through her Bank of Asia. We got absolutely nothing for that. At least with the Asphalt plant we get something to look at.
A better investment than the $ Billion dollars soon to be shared amongst friends under the SECRET disguise of an airport extention with a business panel so dodgy we are not allowed to see it.
Better value than Propect Reef. No need to explain that one.
Better than greenhouses. More Minister family got rich off that one and the Minister got a park and an honor for that debacle. We got nothing to even look at except a piece of overgrown flat land.
Better than HOA dirty 13 salry increases. Money for nothing there.
Better value than wating there time putting it on ill prepared surfaces so we can pay another local frien (minus kickbacks) to do it over and over again.
So all in all. Not bad value if we measure it against other projects.
I think it gets an even rating about equivalent to the incinerator on a scale of 1 to ten as just getting very slightly above zero.
So yes better than most other projects.
So well done and give Minsister in charge a Park named after them and an honor from the UK.
And thankyou.
Whatever the reason for the dysfunction it must be recognized by all involved that it is the source of a complex disruption and headache for numerous members of our community. The volume of vehicles that are now in need of mechanical services as a result of deplorable road conditions has made it extremely difficult to book such services with garages offering their quickest service almost a month away. How does that help someone in an emergency situation. It has also now become common to see vehicles parked along the road with broken front end parts many others shake rattle and roll. Y’all can do better stop playing.
Chinese quality equipment and they buying it.
How embarrassing that a private entity is better equiped to fix the roads than the Government themselves. Anyways, it’s best y’all leave the road paving needs of the BVI to Ashley. No administration is likely to get it together when it comes to Ash fault and road maintainance.
What roads that Ashley did in the recent times standing firm still ?name 1. I’ll wait
having the plant is good but do we have properly trained staff than can run and maintain this piece of equipment, that is the real question
It that boy from Pwd he the problem he way the plant not working send him home