Minister for Natural Resources, Labour & Immigration Vincent Wheatley stated at his recent Ninth District meeting on Virgin Gorda that a short-term plan is being worked on to regain more activity within the marina.

He said, he spoke with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour Romney Penn, and said the aim is to have passengers shifting from the now usual ferry dock to the marina by the second quarter of 2020.

“One of the reasons we are going to transform the marina because we want to separate the cargo and the passengers into the marina. I told Mr Penn that I will take no one in there until the place looks decent and nice,” Minister Wheatley stated.

“Also for a very practical reason because during the day, the barge bringing the materials can’t come to the dock, so the barges have to stay out in the ocean all night, and have these poor guys working all day and driving these trucks all night, endangering their lives, messing up our roads and keeping us awake,” he added.

Wheatley further said that by shifting the passengers off the dock, these truck drivers will now have all day to conduct their duties in a much safer environment, as they continue to contribute to the development of Virgin Gorda.

Contract signed for ground work at marina

Meanwhile, the Ninth District Representative also revealed that a contract to start groundworks at the marina has been signed, which will see the beautification of the facility in the coming weeks.

“We are going to start landscaping around the new building, we are going to be paving that parking lot where those containers are. By February, end of February, all orders should be done and tourists will be building the marina back into a real top centre,” Wheatley stated.

“All the metal for the new building is on island now, so we are going to see a whole transformation taking place in the marina,” he added.