BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AFTER years of complaints and multiple meetings with authorities, bus operators on the St. Peter’s Line will have to wait longer for a shelter from the elements.
Prime Minister and Constituency Representative, Dr. Terrance Drew, explained that the delay in constructing a facility at College Street Ghaut is due to the landowner's demand for a price significantly above market value. This, he said, has created a hurdle for the government, with potential ripple effects across the area.
We have approached the private person to purchase land on the College Street area. That evaluation has been done. However, what I've been told, what is being asked for, is so much greater than the price of the land in that area," Dr Drew stated. "I've been told by the legal persons that if you were to engage in such, you can artificially increase the land price in that area and have other effects."
Currently, bus operators on the St. Peter’s route lack a designated space or bathroom facilities. Speaking at a recent roundtable, the Prime Minister revealed that discussions with the landowner are ongoing, but the asking price remains prohibitive.
“The price that was being presented was way above market multiple times," Dr Drew noted. "Not just an increase, but multiple times the market price for the size of land and the location of the land. And so we'll continue to speak to the private person.”
The proposed location at upper College Street would host a shed to provide shelter for bus operators and residents in St. Peter’s and surrounding areas. However, Dr. Drew emphasized that the government is actively exploring alternative sites within the vicinity for the project.
“But we'll continue to strive to get the land,” the Prime Minister assured.
The bus terminal is part of a three-fold promise made by Dr. Drew to St. Peter’s bus operators. The pledge includes resurfacing major roads in the area, raising bus fares, and constructing the terminal.
In 2024, the government, led by Dr. Drew, completed the long-overdue project to resurface roads in St. Peter’s, marking the first such upgrades in over two decades.
