“Roseau Enhancement Project to start” – Poponne-Skerrit
The Roseau Enhancement Project will get underway later this year, according to Melissa Poponne-Skerrit, the Parliamentary Representative for the Roseau Central Constituency.
When it’s finished, Roseau will be “a brand-new city, the most modern city in the Caribbean,” according to her.
The Roseau Enhancement Project will be funded by a US$41 million loan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which the government got approval from Parliament in November 2023.
The Roseau Enhancement Project aims to transform Roseau into a modern, visually pleasing metropolitan hub. This all-encompassing project includes rehabilitating roads and bridges, building pathways for pedestrians, and expanding the city’s lighting system.
She added, “The Roseau Enhancement Project is well underway.” As you know, we requested a loan from Saudi Arabia. Although we already have the early designs, a number of studies still need to be completed.
Poponne-Skerrit noted that there have been various obstacles to the project.
“In particular, there have been some obstacles in our path to modernize the utility companies and wires and move them to underground cables,” the speaker said. They aren’t quite ready, so this has presented a little issue for us, but we managed to go around it. This is one of our holdups, in my opinion.
“But now that we are moving this along quickly, you should see something happen very soon this year,” she continued.
Additionally, Poponne-Skerrit stated that Great George Street will be the project’s starting point.
“The roads will be widened as well, everything will be wheelchair accessible, the sidewalks will be improved, the drains will be completely covered, you will have a clear skyline because all the wires will be placed underground, and additional parking,” she disclosed. “We can anticipate that it will start later this year.”
She also mentioned the project’s beautifying component, dubbed “the Paint the Town project.”
Poponne-Skerrit stated, “We will be giving an instant facelift to the commercial buildings as well as the residential. Painting a space can do wonders; it instantly brightens it up, so we will focus on this and new roadway signs and signage will also be installed.”
In a report last year, Melissa Poponne-Skerrit emphasized that the Roseau Enhancement project will improve the city’s tourism offers, draw more private investment, and raise the city’s appeal. With the help of these funding, Roseau’s cultural and recreational hub will be transformed into a multipurpose entertainment complex.
She also emphasized the need to uphold a particular standard in Roseau as airport building moves forward.
The international airport is expected to be fully operational by 2026, with MMC Development Ltd. overseeing its construction.