‘West End ferry dock designs reflect BVI people’, RDA boss contends
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Recovery & Development Agency (RDA), Anthony McMaster said despite the concerns about the new West End Ferry Terminal design, the plans reflect who Virgin Islanders are as a people.
McMaster said when people think about the territory, they immediately think about the sea and beaches the territory possesses.
“We pride ourselves and we continue to say we are 60 islands and cays. But on the grand scheme of things, that is only 58 square miles. But that is not the BVI, because when we think about the BVI, the BVI is not a small land state. The BVI is in fact a large water state. We have over 200 square miles of sea that is available to us. So, when you think about it. The sea is the future of the BVI. There is no way we can try to develop new sources of revenue streams, new ways in which to enjoy our lives and not look at the sea.,” McMaster said.
The CEO said the ferry terminal design was deliberately done to replicate the waves of the Caribbean Sea that washes the territory’s shores.
“The wave of the sea tells you about the resilience of the BVI people; that regardless of how many times we are knocked down, we get up. We have proven it with Irma. Though we are a land base territory, we are a huge water base state. As such, this building was designed to depict who we are,” the CEO said.
“It’s not about whether or not we want to continue with the traditional type of building, it’s about us now as a people stepping forward boldly saying this is who we are. This is the way how we are going forward in the future. We are not afraid to take chances and to stand against the biggest and the best because we are a little giant,” he elaborated.
Over the past week, some Virgin Islanders have been expressing concerns with the aesthetics of the new ferry terminal; citing that it does not consider the identity of the territory.
At a public meeting hosted by the government on Tuesday, one resident questioned if any consideration for national identity was given when designing the structure. He described the existing designs as a ‘mimicry’ of modernism.
“We pride ourselves and we continue to say we are 60 islands and cays. But on the grand scheme of things, that is only 58 square miles. But that is not the BVI, because when we think about the BVI, the BVI is not a small land state. The BVI is in fact a large water state. We have over 200 square miles of sea that is available to us. So, when you think about it. The sea is the future of the BVI. There is no way we can try to develop new sources of revenue streams, new ways in which to enjoy our lives and not look at the sea.,” McMaster said.
The CEO said the ferry terminal design was deliberately done to replicate the waves of the Caribbean Sea that washes the territory’s shores.
“The wave of the sea tells you about the resilience of the BVI people; that regardless of how many times we are knocked down, we get up. We have proven it with Irma. Though we are a land base territory, we are a huge water base state. As such, this building was designed to depict who we are,” the CEO said.
“It’s not about whether or not we want to continue with the traditional type of building, it’s about us now as a people stepping forward boldly saying this is who we are. This is the way how we are going forward in the future. We are not afraid to take chances and to stand against the biggest and the best because we are a little giant,” he elaborated.
Over the past week, some Virgin Islanders have been expressing concerns with the aesthetics of the new ferry terminal; citing that it does not consider the identity of the territory.
At a public meeting hosted by the government on Tuesday, one resident questioned if any consideration for national identity was given when designing the structure. He described the existing designs as a ‘mimicry’ of modernism.
