A four-month extension has been added to the original construction timeline for the new port in Little Bay.
The groundbreaking at the site of the £35.4 million Montserrat Port Development Project took place in June 2022. Work is now expected to be finished by 9 May, this year.
Opposition leader Paul Lewis raised the topic of the port during a meeting of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly on 30 January.
He asked Samuel Joseph, Minister of Communications, Works, Labour and Energy, for an update on the timeline.
“A six-month extension was given on the original completion date of the port development,” he stated in his question.
“How much of the six months has passed? Will the port be completed within the six-month extension?”
Joseph responded that contrary to some reports, a six-month extension was not granted for the original completion date of the project.
To date, a total of 126 days has been approved as extensions to the project timeline, he said.
These extensions comprise of 105 days added in March 2023 due to delays associated with the advance payment process.
And an additional 21 days were granted to accommodate adjustments related to a 25-metre offset of the pier, the minister said.
“Collectively, these extensions amount to approximately four months. Consequently, the revised project completion date is now set for 9 May, 2024.”
The project is being financed with £28.3 million in grant funding from the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Fund and £7.1 million from the European Development Fund.
Infrastructure works will include the construction of an offshore jetty, new access road, dredging works and slope stabilisation.
Montserrat is expected to benefit from better access to goods and services, expanded economic activity and increased trade.
The Port Authority was relocated to Little Bay from the former capital Plymouth in June 1997 after volcanic activity destroyed the port.
