Construction is now underway on a major new L-shaped jetty at Port Soufriere, with officials placing strong emphasis on community engagement and minimising disruption as work progresses.
Ahead of the start of construction, high-level meetings were held with residents, business operators, and other stakeholders to outline the scope of the project and address concerns about its impact on daily life in the town.
Executive Chairman of the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation, Sam Augier, said the consultations were aimed at ensuring that the community fully understood what the project would involve.
“We invited all the stakeholders to, one, view the scope of works to be conducted by cruise ports, two, understand the implications, traffic management, garbage collection, visitor harassment, and all of that,” Augier explained. He said the goal was to keep the community informed and prepared.
“That was the intention behind it, so that we can fill them in on the whole programme as to what it entails, what is required of us as a community that would benefit from the initiative, and prepare the community on the whole to engage in that form of development.”
General Manager of the Saint Lucia Cruise Port, Lancelot Arnold, indicated that construction is expected to be completed within approximately four months. He stressed that careful planning is being employed to allow cruise operations to continue during the peak season.
“The contractor has indicated he needs about four months to have it completed and the construction is being undertaken in such a manner to minimise disruptions to the current operations on what is usable of the existing L-shaped jetty,” Arnold said.
He added that work has already begun at the northernmost section of the structure.
“The contractor has started from the northernmost part and will be working southbound to make sure that the operations are continued throughout the cruise season.”
Arnold also highlighted the importance of collaboration among the various agencies involved in the project.
“The relationships between those entities are of critical importance to the Soufriere community, and I must say that both GPH and the Foundation have lived up to their commitments in terms of informing all of the stakeholders,” he stated.
He expressed appreciation to the government for its support, noting, “I would like to say thank you to the Government of Saint Lucia for the consideration, the vision and forward planning, in particular our District Representative who has worked feverishly in trying to ensure that this activity comes to fruition.”
From a public safety and traffic management standpoint, Inspector Kimroy Rene, who is in charge of the Soufriere and Choiseul Police Stations, assured residents and motorists that disruptions would be limited.
“From a motoring perspective, from a traffic perspective, there is a traffic plan in place. There will not be too much disruption,” Rene said. He noted that much of the construction activity will take place offshore. “Most of the activities and operations of that project will happen from the barge.” Where land-based work is required, efforts will be made to avoid peak business hours. “The concrete pouring and the movement of certain pieces of equipment will mostly happen during the evening, so it will not directly interfere with the day-to-day daytime operations of our taxi drivers and our business people on the streets.”
The new jetty is expected to play a key role in strengthening Soufriere’s waterfront infrastructure while supporting cruise tourism. Officials maintain that ongoing dialogue with the community will remain a priority as construction continues, ensuring that development proceeds without undermining the character and daily rhythm of the town.