Started under the Chastanet Administration, the incoming government continued the project. However, due to a myriad of industrial actions taken by the workers and weather conditions, the project was halted on numerous occasions. The Opposition Leader is calling on the present administration to provide clarity on the progress of the project.
“What they are doing now is an insult to Saint Lucians. It’s a pappyshow and they are treating us like we are a pappyshow. It is time that we demand respect from this government,” Chastanet said during a radio interview. He says the length of time taken by this singular project is unacceptable. “It is unbelievable that after working for three years on this road, that’s what the state is.”
Work resumed on the Highway on Monday, October 30, 2023, after a few weeks of industrial action taken by the workers over unpaid wages. On Sunday, October 29, 2023, vehicles that were en route to the southern and western parts of Saint Lucia for Jounen Kweyol celebrations would have made use of the Highway. Chastanet added that during the peak winter seasons, taxi operators will be using the Highway.
“We are now approaching the winter season where a lot of taxi drivers and a lot of vendors on that West Coast road depend on the cruise ship passengers coming down on what they call the land and sea tour,” Chastanet said. The Opposition Leader says he will pen an open letter to Prime Minister Pierre and Infrastructure Minister Hon. Stephenson King about the condition of the highway.
Both Ministers, however, have expressed concern over the sluggish pace of the roadworks. After a break in the project, work resumed in August 2023, at which time Pierre demanded that the contractor make significant progress over a six-week period. Towards the commencement of October 2023, when the six-week deadline ended, a delegation from the funding agency, the Caribbean Development Bank and UKCIF visited the site and held a meeting with the Prime Minister and officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure to chart the way forward.
An estimated date of completion was then earmarked for the first quarter of 2024. However, due to internal issues on the part of the contractor, work on the Highway ceased once more until resumption on October 3o, 2023. In August 2023, Infrastructure Minister Hon. Stephenson King informed the public that terminating the contract with the contractor would have untold repercussions for Saint Lucia as the government is not funding the project. The UK government is funding the project through the Caribbean Development Bank. During the tendering process of for the rehabilitation of the highway, allegations surrounding the awarding of the contract were rife, suggesting that qualifying standards had not been met and that instructions had been given for the awarding of the contract during the former administration.