ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed that the government has acquired a majority stake in Blue Ocean, the company involved in critical dredging projects at the Deep Water Harbour and Crabbes Harbour.
Dredging work at the deep Water Harbor (File Photo)Browne, speaking on his weekly weekend radio programme, said that his administration had made a significant cash injection into Blue Ocean company making it the new majority owner of the dredging company.
He said the government now has approximately 75 per cent in Blue Ocean, telling radio listeners “we just bought this massive dredging machine…and the operator standing beside it is six feet tall, and the tracks alone tower above him. It’s huge.”
He said the equipment, valued at US$1.2 million is due here early next month accompanied by a barge worth an estimated US$1.3 million, bringing the total investment to US$2.5 million and that together, these assets will position Blue Ocean as the largest dredging company in the Caribbean.
Browne said the new dredge will be capable of undertaking heavy-duty marine work, from deepening harbours to reclaiming land and expanding coastlines.
“This machine can rip up the jaws of death in the harbour and finish the dredging at North Sound,” he said, outlining a vision for land creation and coastal development:
“There’s no reason we can’t use this equipment near Sandy Island to expand it tenfold and create a beautiful new bay. We can make more land, a new leisure space for locals and visitors alike.”
He said that such innovations were not dreams but tangible, ongoing projects.
“We’re showing people the evidence. We’re not just talking, we’re building. You’re going to see new offshore islands created from that machine. Mark my word.
“All they do is talk lies…but we’re showing the people the results, concrete investments, real progress. We have the energy, the vision, and the plan. Work with us,” he told listeners.
Last month, Opposition Leader, Jamale Pringle expressed concerns at the government’s approval to send Minister of Social and Urban Transformation, Rawdon Turner and other officials to Holland to procure equipment for harbour projects that have already consumed over EC$100 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) in taxpayer funds.
“Now I am concerned, and I’m going to speak to the legal luminaries to see if it’s even worthwhile for us to file an injunction to stop these things, pending the information that is necessary to make these decisions,” Pringle said in an interview then on Observer radio.
He said he was exploring a writ of mandamus, a court order compelling a government official, entity, or lower court to perform a legal duty or correct an abuse of discretion, against the Prime Minister to compel the release of financial documentation from statutory bodies and government agencies.
“We have seen this dredging happening for at least 10 years now, and we have not seen any form of records, any agreement. All we heard was the government had shares in the Blue Ocean,” he said, complaining against what he said was a conflict of interest in the government’s relationship with Blue Ocean.
“We cannot continue to allow this government to just get up with a bright idea that is going to cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and we sit back and allow it. It is necessary for us, the opposition, to stand against it,” Pringle declared.
The St John’s Harbour project requires approximately 20,000 cubic meters of rock removal and 120,000 cubic meters of maintenance dredging, while Crabb’s Harbour needs an additional 150,000 cubic meters of dredging work.
