Above: the harbour in St John’s, Antigua (Caribbean Journal photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Antigua and Barbuda’s government has announced plans to undertake a “complete overhaul” of the Port of St John’s, the government announced Tuesday.

Plans have already been put in motion for the project, which will include the construction of new buildings and the installation of new equipment and machinery.

The project will include a cruise ship terminal with “warehousing facilities, outlet malls, Mediterranean style restaurants, a state of the art promenade leading from the ship and a designated taxi stand,” the government said.

“The transformation of the existing port facilities is part of a larger, progressive plan to turn the port into a vibrant, economic hub for both the capital city and for the nation as a whole,” Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said in a statement. “My government’s plan is to also establish an Economic Free Zone within the port facilities which will function as a centre for trading, manufacturing and assembly warehousing. This transformation is vitally important to the expansion of the port, and scores of high quality jobs will be created.”

The port development project will also include a full-scale container terminal with multiple craines and “new modern shipping equipment,” the government said.