Construction on the New Pier at Heritage Quay in Antigua is moving full speed ahead despite brief delays, according to a press release.

The island said that the majority of the project components are on schedule, but overall, to expect a slight delay. 

“As of March 31, apart from the dredging activities, the project was fully on schedule,” said David Corbella, Principal Marine Engineer at Global Ports Holding. “After the government curfew was enacted, the team suspended construction for a few days and incorporated several precautionary measures. We established day and night shifts to reduce the number of people working on the site at any given time, in addition to establishing social distancing protocols. We have reduced the daytime crews to 50 people and the nighttime crew to 25 people at any given time. We have also added shifts to ensure that the project stays on schedule as much as possible.”

Corbella said they were also conducting temperature checks at the entrance to the site and have provided face masks to all crew members, who are always required to wear them.

“We have placed hand sanitizer dispensers at all workstations on the site,” he continued. “Every morning we host “Toolbox” meetings to review the precautionary measures and regulations, in addition to other site updates. COVID-19 has certainly presented a challenge for us, but thanks to strong collaborative efforts between Antigua Cruise Port, the Government of Antigua & Barbuda, the Port Authority, our GPH technical team, and Meridian, we are still making great progress.

“The project is about 60 percent complete but considering the current situation, we expect a slight delay. We are working on various components simultaneously to expedite the process. The ship berthing area has been dredged to almost 50 percent of the depth required. This activity that was scheduled to be completed in mid-June but may be delayed by about one month.” Upon completion, the harbour will be dredged to a depth of 10.7 meters.”

Added Dona Lisel Regis- Prosper, General Manager of Antigua Cruise Port: “The extent of the reach of COVID-19 and its impact on our society was certainly unforeseen and even unimaginable at one point. We are, however, making steady progress on the expansion of the port despite these challenges. We remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver significant economic benefits to Antigua & Barbuda and to create a stunning, world-class port facility that will be primed and ready to accommodate those Oasis-class ships and more as the industry begins to rebound.”