Source: NBC Radio
The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is building a new deep-water port in its capital city, Kingstown.
The USD $250 million Kingstown Port Modernisation Project, the country’s second-largest capital project is funded by the Caribbean Development Bank, the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF), and the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and other officials visited the project on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. During the tour, Mr. Lenski Douglas – Project Manager of the Kingstown Port Modernization Project said the project is 36 percent complete.
Here are five (5) incredible things that are happening at the project.
- An environmentally-friendly concrete batching plant: The project has its own concrete batching plant with a capacity of 36 cubic metres. The plant has a sufficient output to meet the concrete needs of the port project.
During a tour of the facility on August 22, 2023, Project Director at Aecon Group Inc., Mr. Tam Smith described the plant as “quiet and dust-free”.
Mr. Smith told Prime Minister Gonsalves that the concrete testing has been successful and some concrete works have started.
He said: “From an environmental point of view, [there are] facilities on the other side which recycles the water so that nothing gets discharged into the sea,” adding that the concrete plant is “state-of-the-art”.
2 Construction of a three-floor building: Construction has already begun on the three-floor Customs and Port Administration building.
Construction has begun on one of the largest buildings in the reclaimed area.
3 Compacting of the sand used to reclaim land for the port: The sand that was used to reclaim the 16 acres of land is being densified using modern technology.
Fiber needles are sent over 30 metres into areas of the reclaimed land and vibrate to help densify the sand up to the required density, and that reduces the amount of settlement that happens over the years, Mr. Smith told Dr. Gonsalves during the tour.
“So, they are now almost finished. They are about 95 percent complete, and we are ready to start the piling,” Mr. Smith told Dr. Gonsalves during the August 22nd tour.
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