The Ministry of Transport and Works and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are continuing their partnership to improve road and transport conditions on the island.
The manager of the Bank’s Infrastructure and Energy Sector, José Agustín Aguerre, and a team from the IDB Barbados Country Office recently paid a courtesy call on Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley.
During the course of the meeting, progress on the Road Rehabilitation and Improving Connectivity Programme currently being carried out by the Ministry with IDB funding was reviewed.
In addition, discussions focused on ways in which IDB assistance to the Ministry could be strengthened. Some of the priority areas identified included improvements in traffic management, the modernization of public transport sector, and clean energy initiatives for the transport sector inclusive of the increased use of energy saving vehicles.
The Minister of Transport strongly supported the expansion of the Ministry’s engagement with the IDB and warmly welcomed the news that a transport specialist would be assigned in the near future to the IDB Barbados Country Office.
The Government of Barbados entered into a BDS$50 million loan agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank in February 2016 to finance out the Road Rehabilitation and Improving Connectivity Programme.
The main objective of the programme is to improve the quality of Barbados’ road infrastructure, in order to enhance tourism competitiveness. The specific aims of the programme are to:
The Ministry has completed 55 per cent of the design work and plans to rehabilitate in excess of 22 kilometres of the primary road network. This includes drainage, construction of sidewalks, rehabilitation of associated bridges and culverts, and safety features.
As part of the loan agreement provides for technical and training support, the Ministry held a series of ten workshops late last year, targeted particularly at females in the secondary schools as well as a cohort of at-risk female youth to be sensitised on the benefits of choosing a technical career path for employment with the MTW. (PR)
