After months of planning, building & developing and the hosting of the official sod turning ceremony, the people of Carriacou, now have a state-of-the-art Port and Welcome Centre at Tyrell Bay, valued at approximately $7.3 million.

Last Thursday morning Prime Minister Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, Hon Kindra Mathurine Stewart and Manager of the Ports Authority, Carlyle Felix, were among other dignitaries present at the opening ceremony, which took place at the newly built facility.

Prime Minister Mitchell took the opportunity to thank former Minister for Carriacou & Petite Martinique Affairs, Hon Elvin Nimrod, who was absent, for his vision, persistence and determination for the building of this multi-million-dollar facility. “This is what development is all about,” Dr. Mitchell gloated, as he briefly mentioned that there are some more developments in the pipeline for Carriacou.

Addressing the gathering was Manager of the Ports Authority, Mr. Carlyle Felix, who reminisced on the area before the development. “The bare and barren land that you saw at the sod turning ceremony has been transformed into the state-of-the-art facility that we had promised.”

He noted too that there were some features, which were added to improve the operations at the Port. These features include CCTV System, Security Lighting, paving of the years, painting of the perimeter fencing, construction of an emergency exit gate and wheelchair ramps. Felix said the design was changed from a local and domestic passenger terminal to one that can now facilitate passengers from international and regional ferry services.

“We at the Ports Authority are very happy that at long last we can provide persons travelling between Grenada and Carriacou with all of the basic that travelling persons deserve. In that regard, we do hope that persons travelling on the Osprey and other local ferries are going to appreciate the shelter from the elements, the restroom facilities that have been provided, the seating accommodation, as well as the comfort of air-conditioning that will be available as the needs arise.”

According to him, the completion of the construction phase of signals the eminence of the operation phase of the facility, which was built by the Chinese-based Gensu Engineering and Construction Company.

This new million-dollar Port will replace the old and dilapidated facility located in Hillsborough. However, Minister for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs, Hon. Kindra Mathurine-Stewart, assured persons that Hillsborough would remain their main Town. “Let me assure you that Hillsborough will remain our main town of Carriacou and economic activities will still be viable and alive in Hillsborough. However, we ought to know that change is inevitable and we have of course to learn to adapt. This gives us an opportunity to be creative and innovative and to try new things now that more space is available.”

The building of this new facility, according to Mathurine-Stewart, signals improvement and development. “With this facility, we expect to see significant improvement in the service to Port users, a reduction in cargo-dwell time and improvement in vessel turnaround time.”