Millennium Highway Opens

Contact: John Emmanuel

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Human Resource Development Youth and Sports Honourable Mario Michel, on Thursday, February 03, officially switched on the lights that signaled the commissioning of St. Lucia’s latest advancement in physical communications infrastructure – the Castries/Cul-De-Sac Tunnel Road.

At a ceremony held within the longer of the two tunnels, the Deputy Prime Minister told a small audience comprising government officials and representatives of the various funding agencies, that the highway named the "Millennium Highway," represented a major addition to the island’s road network.

The seventy-five million dollar tunnel road that links the City of Castries via the Cul-De-Sac Valley and points further south, also connects to the East and West coast roads forming a logical extension to St. Lucia major arterial network.

According to Mr. Michel, "This new highway with easier gradients, gentler curves and a wider road surface, is much easier to drive, is safer, quicker and less stressful as indeed many local drivers can already attest to." More importantly, he adds, "The new highway will also enhance the economic development of St. Lucia and Castries in particular."

As the heart of St. Lucia’s industrial and commercial activity, the City of Castries faces strong economic pressures for further development. The new highway is seen as a critical step in allowing for the expanding of the boundaries of Castries, particularly, towards the south.

Although the highway is expected to significantly open up the Cul-De-Sac Valley, Minister for Communications, Works, Transport and Public Utilities Senator the Honourable Calixte George says, the flood-prone nature of the terrain will require large injections of funds before real economic activity could be realized in the area. "Without a doubt the cost to St. Lucian entrepreneurs will be prohibitive since the cost of developing these lands will be extremely high. Already the Cul-De-Sac Development Company that was set up to develop such land has already spent 10 million dollars without much significant benefits in terms of sales. The development of the commercial sector in the flood plains, therefore, can only be realized at very high cost," George said. He says however that there is need to explore a wide range of possibilities to pursue the development of the area giving due regard to environmental and ecological protection.

Funding for the project came from loans provided by the French Government totaling 24 million dollars, the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development totaling 22.5 million, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that provided 5.4 million and the Government of St. Lucia that provided the remaining 23 million dollars.

St. Lucian motorists are contributing to the payback of these loans by an increase in consumption tax on petroleum. That measure was approved of in place of a toll, which officials say would cause delays and deter drivers from using the highway.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Search for 2000 Press Releases ] [Site Help]

© 2001 Government Information Service. All rights reserved.

Read our privacy guidelines.