BRADES, Montserrat, May 15th, 2013 – The UK Government has agreed to give Montserrat additional time to pursue new investor options for the development of the Carrs Bay Port and the new town at Little Bay.
In a letter to the Hon. Premier Reuben T. Meade, DFID Minister of State the Rt. Hon. Alan Duncan and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the FCO Mark Simmonds commended the island for the work on the Strategic Growth Programme which aims to move Montserrat towards more financial independence.
The ministers said the UK remained committed to Montserrat and in the letter set out the next stages for working together.
“The UK Government’s 2012 White Paper set out our vision for the Overseas Territories to be vibrant and flourishing communities, proudly retaining aspects of their British identity and generating wider opportunities for their people. We also made a separate commitment to provide assistance with the aim of helping territories achieve sustainable, inclusive growth and move towards increased financial independence from the UK.
This commitment has been demonstrated for Montserrat in a number of ways including through high level visits and the approval of significant funding for the construction of a power station and the purchase of a generator, the redevelopment of the Glendon Hospital, and exploratory drilling for geothermal energy,” the letter stated.
It reiterated the conditions of the MoU which was that “significant progress across all reform areas were a fundamental precondition for any future UK commitment to invest funds in Little Bay Town, Carr’s Bay Port, access to and from Montserrat, and geothermal energy. All these investments were to be financially and economically justified.”
“When the DFID Permanent Secretary, Mark Lowcock, visited Montserrat in March, your team assessed that it was highly unlikely that you would be able to meet the requirement to secure the simultaneous binding commitment of the private sector to develop tourism facilities at Little Bay within the agreed timetable (which we extended to July 2013 for the initial “in principle”, but not binding, commitment).
“In your more recent conversations with FCO and DFID officials, however, you noted that a potential investor has come forward and a letter of intent is being drafted for a substantial investment of around US$84 million in a hotel in Little Bay and villas on Potato Hill – so perhaps the extended 31 July 2013 time limit may still be achievable if an interested yachting marina investor can be found. Separately, you also asked for time to carefully consider public private partnerships (PPPs) in the development of a port/ breakwater at Carr’s Bay which may bring with it hotel and villa developments.
The ministers have agreed to give Montserrat the time and the necessary technical expertise to negotiate the newer idea of a public private partnership agreement on co-investment in Carr’s Bay port/ breakwater.
A timeline for the PPP work is to be established between the local DFID office and the Government of Montserrat.
“We acknowledge that your government has made substantial progress in implementing the reforms set out in the Memorandum of Understanding and have made substantial efforts to attract private sector investment, both domestic and foreign,” the ministers noted.
The final review of the reform agenda began today here with the intention of evaluating the government’s efforts to improve the enabling environment for business, providing efficient delivery of public services and maximizing revenue while lowering government expenditure.
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