His Excellency Sir Dr. Rodney Williams, Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda
Hon Steadroy Benjamin: Attorney General and Acting Prime Minster of Antigua and Barbuda
Ambassador H.E. Mr. Brian Stuart Young Ambassador to the People's Republic of China
Mr. Hu Qui Quan, Secretary to Ambassador H.E. Mr. Ren Gongping, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Antigua and Barbuda Cabinet Colleagues and Members of Parliament
Senator, the Honourable Mary-Claire Hurst: Chairperson of the Antigua Port Authority, and Board of Commissioners
Chairman of SJDC: Mr. Rohan Hector and Board Members, and members of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority Chairman of the Antigua Pier Group: Mr. Craig Whyte, and Board Members Hoteliers, Taxi Drivers, Tour Operators and Business Owners
Other Distinguished guests ,A very warm welcome to all of you.
Today's event marks a truly historical reversal in the fortunes of Antigua & Barbuda. Today, we celebrate the completion of the sweeping and dredging of our St. John's Harbour. This of course is only the beginning of a grander plan to upgrade and improve on the legacy, dating back to 1968.
I extend my sincere gratitude to all of you for joining us on this memorable and joyous occasion for Antigua and Barbuda. The completion of this first phase will lead to achievement of the master plan; the new St. John's Harbour will catapult this country's tourism future forward, making it a favored port-of-call for cruise lines. We intend to make Antigua and Barbuda an economic powerhouse in the Caribbean, and nothing less.
That said, despite the competition from our neighbours and the turmoil that the industry has suffered in recent years, the Antigua & Barbuda Labor Party (ABLP) Administration, lead by Prime Minister, the Honourable Gaston Browne, is to be applauded for its relentless efforts in re-building the Cruise Industry in our fair country, achieving the growth which is experienced today.
In fact, this season is forecast to be a bumper cruise season with over 700,000 cruise passengers visiting our shores, the positive effects of which have already been felt by all our local stakeholders.
As the premier destination, we were the first country to have four dedicated cruise berths exclusively for Cruise ships in the entire Eastern Caribbean.
At the time when the Nevis Street Pier was completed, Antigua and Barbuda enjoyed a tripling of our cruise arrival numbers. And now, after a 10-year slip, the new administration has demonstrated the priority it places on the cruise industry by its tangible efforts to address the long outstanding issues which stymied growth.
We have returned the harbour to its original state. Truth be told, in many areas we have surpassed the original water depths so that we can now safely and adequately provide berths for the largest cruise vessels serving the region.
It is the intention of this Government to continue the work that has been started by shortly commencing work on the piers and the landside facilities, to put the Cruise Industry firmly back on the Front Burner and to bring Cruise Tourism back to the pinnacle where it once was and more under this Labour Party Administration.
These goals have propelled us to this point, where we will soon reclaim our place as the favored Caribbean cruise port and cruise destination—and it all begins right here, right now, on this very day.
I'd like to take the time to highlight a few of the many achievements which marked this special journey to commence the renewal of St. John's.
First and foremost, I am exceedingly happy to report that not only did we set a time of completion and meet that deadline with flying colors, but we also achieved our goal well under our estimated cost. That is reason enough to wake up with a giant smile on our faces.
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