However, Minister for Transportation, Works and Utilities Hon. Kye Rymer has insisted that work had already started and debunked Penn’s claims that the project had stalled for so long that wild tamarinds were growing there.

The ground-breaking ceremony for that project was done almost a year ago, on October 12, 2020.

“We are still in COVID times, and I know we want everything to be done immediately, but [when] we think about what is happening in the territory, we will have delays,” Hon. Rymer told BVI Platinum News on Thursday morning, October 7.

He continued: “It wasn’t a secret that we were rebuilding the Market Square, we had a ceremony, and we are doing the work. You know how things in Government are, we had a [COVID-19] spike, we lost a lot of people, things got sidelined because of COVID in terms of lives and livelihoods, and that’s where we are at.”

The Minister informed that work had started.

“We have done works in there before; we have boarded it up, we have removed the existing Market Square that was there...so work has been happening it's just you haven’t seen any structure. Don’t mind Marlon [Penn Opposition Leader] that it have so much wild tamarind in there and it’s for sheep and goat, Marlon only talking politics," the Minister said.

He pointed out that the area was filled with a rocky material for proper drainage as it was a flood-prone area.

In the meantime, the first-term legislator said the vendors that were located on that portion of land had been temporarily relocated to an open area along the Fishlock Road to facilitate the development of the Market Square.

When questioned on whether the former NDP proposed plan to move vendors to the Festival Grounds, including those who are now lining the roadways to be in a central location is still being considered, he said he wasn’t aware of it, and discussions on an overall plan for all vendors “was never a discussion that I had.”

He further said the enforcement of the vendors falls under the remit of the Department of Trade.