Key Projects of Barbados

The Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre

In 2005, the mangrove pond landfill site in the parish of St Thomas was receiving 1,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, much of which could potentially be recycled. The government looked for a private partner to take on a build–own–operate–transfer contract for a new recycling centre to reduce the amount of waste that has to be buried each year. The scheme would also see the re-use of materials that would ultimately have been replaced with imports if recycling was unavailable. The tender was won by Williams Industries, a Caribbean-wide owning group headquartered in St Thomas, which established the Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre (SBRC) in early 2008. Under the contract, the SBRC will receive a fee to process waste for a minimum period of ten years, after which the government has the option to purchase the facility. Since the recycling facility opened, the mangrove pond landfill has seen the amount of solid waste it receives reduced by 70 per cent.

Sugar Point Cruise terminal

A new cruise terminal is to be built at the Bridgetown Port using a public–private partnership model, with SMI Infrastructure Solutions as the main private sector partner, along with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Global Destinations. The terminal will offer new passenger facilities, including retail units and eateries, as well as cultural experiences such as the Rum and Sugar Museum. Despite some initial delays with the project, Christopher Sinckler, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, announced at the start of 2014 that work has now begun on the terminal site, with funding now secured for the $160 million scheme. The first phase of work was due to be completed in 2016.

Public-Private Partnerships

In the early 1990s, a tripartite social partnership was formed between the government, trade unions and the private sector with the aim of tackling the economic crisis. Consequently, Barbados has been seen as a leader in the Caribbean region for forging successful relationships between the public and private sectors.

Social partnership initiatives since then have included the tourism industry working closely with the government to boost tourism under the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.

In 2013, Barbados hosted the Caribbean Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Growth Forum. Since then, the government has indicated that opportunities will be ripe for companies interested in bidding for government contracts in 2014-17. Barbados’ Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, told the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce in January 2014 that the country would be investing US$1.1 billion in public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure over the next three years.