Seated, from left: David Lashley, Conor Holmes, Karim Hodge and Marcel Fahie. Standing, from left: Governor Tim Foy, Carlyn Haynes, Darren Forbes-Batey, Sherman Williams, Shomari Kentish and Minister Curtis Richardson.
ANGUILLA–On Tuesday, October 29, Joint Venture representative Conor Holmes signed the contract with the government of Anguilla to construct a much needed jetty at Road Bay, adjacent to the current jetty. David Lashley of DLN Consultants International Inc. signed an additional contract which awarded his company management oversight of the project.
Governor Tim Foy opened the signing ceremony by thanking his staff and the staff of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Utilities (MICU), who worked tirelessly to make this happen. He said, “They ran a good, open and transparent competition process which reflected the important aspects of transparency in the way that public funds are managed.” He noted that the simple signing of documents in no way reflected the amount of behind-the-scenes work and commitment of all the parties involved in the process.
MICU Minister Curtis Richardson thanked his Permanent Secretary Karim Hodge and Anguilla Air & Sea Port Authority (AASPA) Chairman Marcel Fahie and their staff for getting the project started, adding that he looked forward to its completion and its ability to move the country forward.
Fahie spoke of the historic incidents that led to the government receiving funding from the British government for this second jetty. He said the award-signing occasion had been predicated on challenges in 2014 when the Royal Engineers reported that the existing jetty was in dire need of immediate repairs. He said AASPA began to seek a grant for approximately US $1 million to repair the existing jetty, which is the sole cargo port for all trade to and from the island. While the repair work was ongoing, the British government stepped in to fund the additional second jetty at a sum of approximately US $13 million. He said, “Sometimes miracles do happen when least expected.” Fahie singled out AASPA project officer Shomari Kentish for his passion and relentlessness in moving the project forward.
Kentish said the second jetty would be significantly stronger than the existing one and would feature a turning circle to enable a fully-loaded 40-foot container to be turned around on the jetty and removed from a cargo ship. Its length will extend 10-15 metres beyond the existing jetty, which will allow for berthing space capability of five roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) platforms. Three acres of land have also been acquired to expand the current port’s capacity. The project is slated to take 16 months from start to finish, with equipment starting to arrive in December.
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