BRADES, Montserrat (July 1, 2013) – Montserrat intends to pursue relationships that can help to rebuild its economy, says Honourable Premier Meade.
Speaking to members of the press last week, following his return from an extended trip to the United Kingdom, the premier said that discussions with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) were positive although they were unwilling to waive rules for Montserrat to pursue one of the investment offers they have received.
However, the premier said, FCO provided additional advice in relation to the development of the new port in Carrs Bay and his government intends to continue to pursue any opportunity to facilitate the speedy and rapid forward movement on the project.
Presently the port design is at the 90% phase with Halcrow as the consulting group. The redesign has also decreased the cost of the port from US$ 117 million to US$ 96 million.
Premier Meade noted that the government has consulted with the public at every stage of the port project, which has brought the design to a stage that better meets the needs for the new town development and the public including the fishermen who have been the primary users of the Carrs Bay area.
The government leader also said they were now pursuing the vision of Montserrat’s geothermal resource being kept in the hands of the people of Montserrat.
He envisions the present utility company Montserrat Utilities Ltd in position to purchase the power from the government and reselling it to the population at an affordable rate. Meade added that if they were to continue down the road of public private partnerships, private sector investors would be looking for a particular return which would lead to higher electricity rates for consumers. This would also mean that the returns to the government would be less.
The leader is therefore looking at the Department for International Development (DFID) to continue its “Spend to save” option rather than pursue private sector investment for the geothermal project. Presently DFID is funding the exploration phase which has already seen one well dug and capped.
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