A vessel from Windward Ferries Limited, one of the private sector companies that are a part of the consortium seeking to establish an inter-connecting ferry service
PRIVATE sector stakeholders within the Caribbean region have partnered for the establishment of an inter-connecting ferry service for the transportation of passengers and cargo across several nations.
At a press conference on Tuesday, executives from Ramps Logistics, Pleion Group/Upturn Funds, Windward Ferries Limited, JS Cruises and Tour and Hinkson Computer Solutions, shared their massive plans for – Connect Caribe – a commercial service which will feature three vessels scheduled to make daily and weekly trips across regional waters.
Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Upturn Funds Caribbean/Pleion Group Inc., Dr. Andre Thomas, said that the consortium has plans to engage respective governments to further fortify this venture, which promises increased economic activity for the region.
“When we began this journey about 18 months ago, we proceeded to read every single study that had been done on maritime transportation… we discovered something very significant that more than three studies highlighted… the fact that if you could connect the Caribbean together for people to move, light goods to move, and agriculture to move over a five-year period, you would affect GDP [Gross Domestic Product] by above five per cent,” Dr. Thomas said.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Upturn Funds Caribbean/ Pleion Group Inc., Dr. Andre Thomas
The consortium hopes to collaborate with various regional governments to integrate their services.
Dr. Thomas said that a cargo service will ply the route to Guyana and Suriname in a latter phase of the project, while a passenger and cargo service will be provided to Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and other eastern Caribbean islands in its first phase, targeting the transportation of 8,000 passengers, cargo and manufactured goods and produce.
The private sector-led venture, Dr. Thomas said, is being done in the “spirit of collaboration” with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to achieve its regional food security and other economic targets.
“We need many players in order to provide the type of maritime corridor that the region needs,” he related.
Executives are hoping to get the ball rolling on the commercial service by the end of the year, and more than US$50 million is expected to be expended on this project, as executives are currently engaging funding partners, Dr. Thomas disclosed.
In the first phase alone, some 270 persons are expected to gain employment. It will create one large market among the participating member states, he said.
By: Naomi Parris