by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Premier of Nevis, Hon. Mark Brantley, confirmed the NIA’s purchase of about 9 acres of land from the Yearwood family to create a facility that would allow for parking, attendant services, security, lighting and other additional services for the Oualie Water Taxi Pier.
Minister of Infrastructure in the Nevis Island Administration – Hon. Spencer Brand, is leading the charge with the project.
During the Wednesday, March 08 edition of “On The Mark”, the Premier of Nevis informed the public that the construction for the reception and ticket area at the Oualie Water Taxi Facility has begun.
“Those who pass by will also notice that the reception area, the ticket area is well underway. I was pleased to see that the roof now looks like it is headed to a speedy conclusion. I know a lot of work has already been done on the interior, and I want to thank the contractors who have been there working diligently. I myself was concerned because the contractors had put up some very high barricades around the construction site, and I couldn’t see what was going on, but I did get the opportunity to do a tour a few weeks ago, and I realised that tremendous work and progress has been made.”
Premier Brantley also notified the public of the decision that had been taken concerning the boats occupying the plot of land opposite the pier.
“Those boats have been taken out and are parked across the road. The Yearwoods reported to us that the owners, some of them, were paying rent. [A lot] of these look like luxury boats, some perhaps would be used for deep sea fishing, but many of them, we are told, are boats that had been abandoned. I want to say to the boat owners that we do not intend to inconvenience them unduly, and while the current space that those boats occupy, that those boats will have to be moved, that it is our intention to create some space for them where they can have their boats; and that space will be available, as the current space is available at a rental fee. Boat owners will have the ability to pull their boats out for service or otherwise, and so we intend to incorporate that as we build out the infrastructure there at Oualie.”
Brantley said the NIA had revolutionised travel between St. Kitts and Nevis with the construction of the Water Taxi Facility. The figures, he said, have proved that the facility “has become a part of the tapestry of Nevisian life and Kittitian life.”
