Port plan still going ahead

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has put a virtual stop to the cruise industry and dramatically slowed down air travel, is not putting a damper on the Mia Mottley-led administration’s $1 billion master plan for the Bridgetown Port Inc. (BPI).

In fact, Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey is reporting that tremendous progress is still being made.

During a tour of the Bridgetown Port on Wednesday, to familiarise new chairman of the board Peter Odle with the operations, Humphrey told reporters that extensive consultations have already taken place regarding the planned Speightstown cruise terminal, and the requests for proposals have been issued and were now being evaluated.

“Hopefully, we will be in a position soon to speak in more detail about what we are going to do in Speightstown. Suffice it to say, we have made a determination that we wanted to have a terminal in the north and that is actively being pursued and is happening,” he said.

In relation to the shallow draft expansion, which would see the 30-catamaran jetty being doubled, Humphrey said “for us it is going to be important to create more berthing space in Barbados”.

He said expressions of interest and requests for proposals have already been issued for this project, and officials were awaiting responses so they could be evaluated.

“A number of Barbadian businesses have been calling out for it – persons in domestic shipping have been asking for it. So, we are taking care of that sector as well. I think for us and for Barbadians that is going to be a major win. It is going to make life easier for those people who have been doing this business for a long time,” said Humphrey.

Equally important, he said, was the creation of a haul out facility at the Bridgetown Port that would “allow us to accommodate international business”. Humphrey said requests for proposals would soon be sent out for this development.

“There are a number of people who own yachts and larger vessels who would like to do their business in Barbados, but because we did not have a proper haul out facility, because we did not have a proper repair facility, a lot of these vessels would leave Barbados and go elsewhere to have their vessels repaired,” the Minister said.

“We are going to put ourselves in a position to be able to do that repair here and all of the associated businesses. It allows us to generate a yachting industry and I think that is going to be tremendous. That is a multimillion-dollar industry for Barbados. It is going to generate tremendous revenue and it is going to generate tremendous jobs,” he added.

Humphrey said it was critical for Barbadians to start retooling “so they can be ready when this sector takes off”.

“I think it is important that we use COVID-19 as an opportunity,” he said.

Humphrey also said there were still plans to separate the cruise from the cargo business, adding that extensive planning has already been done and they were now “actively and deeply” involved in a conversation about financing that aspect.

“Our commitment to the separation of cruise from cargo is the same and we intend to find ourselves in a position to be able to do so. The reality is that the COVID-19 has shifted some plans, but it is one of our priorities and we have all the plans. We are in a position now to finetune these plans, but we have not changed our minds,” he said.

These developments, the Minister said, should help to improve the ease of doing business in Barbados.

The cargo business, which is continuing during the pandemic, forms about 80 per cent of the Port’s operations, while cruise makes up the remainder.

Chief Executive Officer of the BPI David Jean-Marie said provision was made in the Port’s budget for an approximately 20 per cent reduction in cargo business as a result of the pandemic.

He also pointed out that staff that were affected as a result of cruise ships not operating were working in other areas of the Port’s operations.

“The workers are fully engaged at the Port. The cruise business has not really [been] impacted. It probably has reduced the quantum of overtime, and we do have a cadre of reserves that we engage when we do have cruise vessels in, but we would have taken care of them for a period of time during this crisis,” said Jean-Marie.

Meanwhile, veteran hotelier Odle said it was “a very exciting time” for the Port, adding that while the groundwork has already been done for the various projects, he would be ensuring that implementation now takes place.

“In Barbados we are very good at talking, but when it comes to implementing it is a different thing. So, I would like to think that I am able to bring some of my private sector experience to getting things implemented in a fairly timely manner,” added the new chairman, who said he was prepared for the challenges.
(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)