Musgrove Outlines $100 Million Infrastructure Programme for Turks and Caicos
Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development Arlington Musgrove has outlined plans for approximately $100 million in infrastructure investment across the Turks and Caicos Islands, including upgrades to roads, airports, ports, drainage systems and serviced land.
Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the Speech from the Throne, Musgrove said the funding would form part of the government’s proposed $350 million borrowing programme for healthcare, affordable housing, infrastructure, waste management, climate resilience and public accommodation.
He said the infrastructure allocation would support “specific, scoped projects” and be subject to Cabinet oversight, public reporting and fiscal safeguards.
“Every dollar of this one hundred million will go toward assets that outlive the loan that paid for them,” Musgrove told the House.
The minister also provided an update on the redevelopment of Howard Hamilton International Airport in Providenciales. He said an investment of up to $30 million would fund an interim arrivals hall measuring between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet, the conversion of the existing terminal into a departure facility, additional check-in and security capacity, and improvements to airside operations.
Musgrove stressed that the $30 million allocation was intended for immediate and temporary works while the airport’s long-term redevelopment plan is finalised.
Responding to criticism from the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Edwin Astwood, the minister said the government had previously explained why it did not proceed with the original procurement proposal. He said a steering committee representing multiple stakeholders had since been established to guide the project.
A draft master plan and business case for the airport development are expected to be presented to the committee this month, Musgrove said. The government is also developing a website through which residents and visitors will be able to follow the redevelopment process.
Airport improvements are also planned across the archipelago, he added.
At South Dock, Musgrove said the first phase of development had been completed and that all vessels were now using the new berth. Phase Two is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Longer-term plans for the port include new container yards, modern cargo-scanning equipment and a fuel-discharge mooring system designed to improve fuel deliveries while protecting surrounding waters.
The minister also highlighted the government’s national roadworks programme, including $6 million for community roads.
Projects cited in his address included completed road and solar-lighting works in Whitby and The Bight, as well as paving in Electoral District 7. Roads identified for work included Industrial Drive, Cooper Jack Drive, Old Airport Road and routes in Kew Town.
Musgrove rejected suggestions that the government was celebrating limited road repairs, saying it accepted responsibility for the condition and continued development of roads throughout the territory.
He also detailed capital and development allocations for several islands, with $18 million designated for Grand Turk, $14 million for South Caicos, $12 million for North and Middle Caicos, and $6 million for Salt Cay.
Those investments will be supplemented by housing, utility and climate-resilience projects, he said.
Other initiatives outlined by the minister included an integrated land-information system that would bring property titles, valuations and mapping data together in one place.
The government also plans to develop serviced residential subdivisions with roads, drainage and utilities already installed. Musgrove said the initiative could reduce both the time and cost involved for families building their first homes.
Coastal-protection work is planned for Providenciales, Salt Cay and Grand Turk as part of a programme intended to strengthen vulnerable shorelines through engineering and scientific planning.
Musgrove said the projects described in his address were funded, scoped or already underway.
Marking the 50th anniversary of ministerial government in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the minister described physical infrastructure as a lasting measure of the government’s stewardship.
“We inherited islands with a foundation,” he said. “Our duty is to build the house upon it, and to make sure it is still standing, strong and unshaken, for the generations who have not yet been born to inherit it from us.”
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