Massive sea defence project at Sandy Bay on the way

Sandy Bay residents, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, will be getting a measure of relief through a massive sea defence project, reports searchlight.vc.

In his Budget presentation on January 9, the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, noted that the village is hemmed in on the west by La Soufriere volcano, and on the east, by “rough and rising seas that are removing many feet of coastline annually.”

“The coastal protection of Sandy Bay is a most urgent imperative,” the finance minister said.

“Without it, the village of Sandy Bay could cease to exist.”

The Sandy Bay Sea Defence Resilience Project will be done in four phases.

Two of the three lots in the Sandy Bay project have already been advertised, and just over $8 million is allocated in this year’s Budget to start the project in 2023.

“We will be pushing hard to get this work done as quickly as possible,” Minister Gonsalves promised.

Budget for 2023 will also address the fast eroding Shipping Bay area, with about $800,000 in coastal defence work.

Initial works will be done to protect an area of 64 meters. The entire project is set to be done over the next two years, at the sum of $5.2 million.