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Saint Lucia Cruise Port Settles Over $17M Of SLASPA Debt

Saint Lucia Cruise Port (SLCP), the new operator of the cruise port at Port Castries, has settled outstanding cruise-related debts in the amount of over USD 17 million on behalf of the Saint Lucia Air & Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA).

The substantial payment was a part of the terms of the cruise port management agreement made between the Government of Saint Lucia and Global Ports Holding, the world’s largest cruise port operator, which was finalized in April.

Saint Lucia Cruise Port is a subsidiary of Global Ports Holding.

The announcement regarding the debt repayment was made shortly after the ceremony marking the commencement of cruise port operations was held on April 30 at the Northern Wharf of Port Castries.

In late April, the Saint Lucia Cruise Port team met with SLASPA executives to provide an update on the project plans, discuss the transition of various responsibilities, and identify opportunities for collaboration.

Additionally, the team confirmed during the discussions that all stevedoring services will continue to be retained by SLASPA and handled through its contracted stevedoring company.

SLASPA will also maintain responsibility for access to all ports of entry, including Port Castries.

The SLASPA Port Police Department retains security oversight for Port Castries and will ensure compliance with the prescribed International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) requirements.

This meeting was followed in early May with a consultation with the SLASPA Seaport Management Team to confirm the operational plan, review and consider berthing plans and cruise line support plans, and other maritime specific obligations in keeping with the concession agreement.

Lancelot Arnold, Director of GPH Eastern Caribbean and General Manager of Saint Lucia Cruise Port, spoke about the development of the relationship between the SLASPA team and Saint Lucia Cruise Port. “We are settling well into our new partnership. It has been extremely helpful to engage with the SLASPA executives and management team, who have been very supportive of our plans and are looking forward to our progress.  By working together and maintaining open lines of communication, we will further enhance the quality of our service delivery and the reputation of Saint Lucia as a top cruising destination.”

Next, SLCP executives will meet with the SLAPSA engineering team and other key staff members to share the details of the investment plan and its anticipated benefits for port partners, tenants, local business owners and the community.

“The changes that we (SLCP), the SLAPSA team, and other partners in this transformative process will make today will positively impact generations of Saint Lucians for many years,” Arnold continued. “We are meeting with all stakeholders because we want everyone to see the vision, to see its potential, and to understand that they have a role to play in driving our collective future. That is what this project is all about – all of us, working together to create a better tomorrow.”

SOURCE: Saint Lucia Air & Sea Ports Authority. PHOTOAn aerial shot of Port Castries, now managed by Saint Lucia Cruise Port.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. Boy, that burning Chas and his cohorts. Let’s see the salty posts in this forum from them. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

  2. Crow…ignorance at it’s peak…throw Politics out… You know the statement that every economist knows?
    here we go ‘THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH”…. Do the Maths and stop being a HACK!!! SMDH

  3. This has got to be the most absurd decision by any Government. Why would we give up $11US per passenger in exchange for $1US per passenger? That extra money could pay for everything GPH say they will do. Somebody must be receiving a kickback. ******* strikes again…smh

  4. $17.M is a heck of a lot of money – now I wonder what is there in Castries so fascinating for Tourists to disembark to see, dirty streets with makeshift coffee shops for locals? Jeremy St. with all its rum shops? $17.M is just too much money, whereas half of that could and should be spent to improve the port of Soufriere – that’s where all the Tourists go to see a bit of nature and a much cleaner place. You guys have been taken, you mean you can’t see a scam when it looks you straight in the eye?

  5. The UWPs just can’t believe it. A guy tried to tell me the port was sold but when I asked him to go to the land registry to find the documents to support his conclusion (I even offered to pay him $200) he declined. I told him a lease is not a sale but them I realized he lives at home with his mom and has never leased anything in his life!

    Another one tried to tell me that GPH would take $11 US per head and give the Government $1. I told him that this deal sounds standard and it is what Antigua has. Infact each year that passes the government gradually get more money until the end of the lease period. He said I was making that up so I pointed him to the new clip from Antigua for the opening of the GPH operated cruise port there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdCgwAb_lfc or GPH also paid off a $21 Million dollar debt for Antigua.

    Ironically the UWP signed a similar deal with the same GPH only to sign a better deal with Royal Caribbean for the South of the island instant. But the Royal Caribbean deal fell apart before the elections. I am excited to see the added jobs and the infrastructural upgrades. GPH has a business history to priotirzing the hiring of locals so that is a plus. Jobs in construction, seectuiry and logistics are expected and I am excited about that too.

    I hope GPH not only provides scholarships but also sponsors many youth programs, like Hess used to do!

  6. Did SLASPA have any problem paying it’s debt? Is the White Foreigner, continuing to fool the Little Black Boy? Stop this BS. I am a secondary graduate.

  7. So because a developer/investor pay off debt that SALSPA has accumulated because of mismanagement we should clap and shout for joy. When will we Lucians stop that red and white crap and realize what it really goin on. Can the ordinary St. Lucian fly their families to Martinique for medial care? them politicians playing the masses but all we see is color. Have you all not realize why the investor chose to take a project of this magnitude? Its because they have all ready seen how they making their profits. why cant we manage our resources better and secure the profits for the generation coming up. I read a comment about Antigua having the same project. Do you know the cost of living in Antigua? do you the price of commodities up there. STOP COMPARING OUR PARADISE TO OTHER PLACES. WE ARE LUCIANS NOT ANTGUANS OR AMERICANS…***… HOLD THE ONCE RESPONSIBLE ACCOUNTABLE..

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