Above: St John’s (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A number of new construction projects will launch in Antigua in 2013, led by the $200 million Bau Panel project.

Bau Panel, which is 25 percent owned by the government of Antigua, will employ more than 80 people, the government said.

The project, which will consist of around 5,000 homes across Antigua and Barbuda, projects to eventually employ 500 people.

“I am fully confident that with the expertise that Bau Panel brings in the construction of homes around the world, that this project will be a major success for Antigua and Barbuda,” Antigua Prime Minister Dr Baldwin Spencer said.

Also commencing construction early in 2013 are the State Insurance Office Complex on Upper St Mary’s Street, along with the Office Complex for the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Merchant Shipping.

The headquarters of the Antigua Department of Marine Services is also set to launch. The 34,000-square-foot project will be located on Factory Road.

At the end of December, Antigua’s government announced that its Construct Antigua and Barbuda Initiative would be accelerated in 2013, with consideration given to commercial projects.