Little Bay Waterfront Masterplan Revealed; Plans Moving Ahead With £21M/EC$75M Port Development Project for Montserrat

On Tuesday, January 15th, 2019, a press conference was held at the offices of the Ministry of Communications, Works, Energy and Labour (MCWEL) to update the media and the public on the plans thus far to advance the £21 Million/EC$75million Montserrat Little Bay Port Development Project.

Present were Hon. Paul Lewis, Minister with responsibility for delivering the Port project. Also present were:

• Rawlson Patterson: PWD, Director (Ag)

• Joseph O’Garro: Manager Montserrat Port Authority (MPA)

• Alverna Weekes: Projects Director at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development

• Rolando Kassie: Project Coordinator (Ag) at MCWEL

• Glenroy Foster: Civil Engineer at MCWEL

At the presser also were team members from Stantec Inc, the international professional services company that operates in the design and consulting industry. They will be responsible for the initial consultations on the Port Development Project.

Stantec's Team included:

• Harold Westerman: Marine Structural Engineer (Team Leader) 

• Justin Jennings-Wray: Civil Engineer (Deputy Team Leader) 

• Sam Salley: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Lead 

• Janice Cumberbatch: Social & Gender Specialist 

• Nigel Denby: Geotechnical Lead 

• Otavio Sayao: Coastal/Dredging Lead 

During the press conference, Hon. Minister Paul Lewis spoke about the project being ready to move forward with Technical Consultants Stantec now being on board.

Minister Lewis also outlined the process to get to this initial phase of the project, with mention made of procurement matters and other negotiations that had to take place prior.

According to Minister Lewis, the first critical milestone that now has to take place going forward will be the completion of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), followed by the tender to acquire the Design Build Contractor. He also made mention that the general public would be included at every stage of the process via a public awareness programme. 

During the press conference, Stantec’s team leader Harold Westerman thanked the Government of Montserrat for trusting them with the supervision of the Little Bay Port Development Project.

Mr. Westerman pointed out that he was also involved in the design and construction of the Port Plymouth Jetty, hence he is very knowledgeable of Montserrat’s needs. He proceeded to give a brief synopsis of the tasks ahead, and confidently indicated that his team will meet their deliverables in a timely manner.

One of their first deliverables is the March, 2019 deadline for completing the project’s ESIA (Environmental & Social Impact Assessment) report.

Also present at the presser was Mr Joseph O’Garro, The Montserrat Port Authority Manager. Mr O'Garro spoke about the need for an improved port facility to push Montserrat’s economic development forward. He also made mentioned that while these port development works are being undertaken, the Port Authority will be putting things in place to improve on their operations.

Mr O’Garro was confident with the improvements to come, saying they would only provide greater good for the people of Montserrat.

Mr. Rawlson Patterson, The Acting Director of Public Works gave an insight into the journey towards acquiring funding for this project. Mr Patterson stated that the new facility will boast a 200m breakwater and berthing facility with added landside features.

Mr. Patterson indicated that the Port Development Project will take a modular approach, with other modules of development being proposed alongside this one.

The Montserrat Port Development Funding is to the amount of £21 million or just over EC$75million.