You can now listen to Antigua News articles!
PM Browne speaks on ECAB and ACB funding for road repair initiative
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said the financial backing for the governments ambitious $100 million road enhancement initiative will come from ECAB and ACB.
PM Browne has been under public pressure to disclose where the money for the project will come from.
He confirmed that both institutions will supply the necessary funds through a bond arrangement.
Browne said the program will prioritize the construction of climate-resilient concrete roads, moving away from traditional asphalt, which the Prime Minister noted has been rapidly deteriorating due to severe weather conditions.
To bolster this concrete-centric approach, the government has already made investments in its own concrete production capabilities, as he stated.
He also mentioned the acquisition of a pug mill, which is expected to arrive shortly, aimed at mechanizing the concrete mixing process for roller compacted roads.
The funding arrangement will incorporate stringent accountability measures to ensure the responsible use of the borrowed funds.
“The bank will have their contractors, or rather their engineers, overseeing the work of our contractors,” Browne noted.
To manage the $100 million bond, the government has suggested an increase in vehicle licensing fees, although following public consultations, this increase is likely to be adjusted from the initially proposed 40 percent hike across the board.
PM please impose those increases in increments please. Having to pay over 800 for license is kinda steep with very little notice
That smells like an increase in all taxes in general.
So it’s this plus the 40%, is it that after pringles words on the live Antigua.News had yesterday, he decided to speak out? Cause the business is already in the public? Oh okay
I hope the banks ask the PM to produce monthly reports on how the money is being spent, and the citizens will see taxes increase to pay back those loans.
The PM keeps bragging about the billions collected from the CIP, but we can’t see where in the country’s infrastructure it is being spent.