Castries: The Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Ernest Hilaire attended the launch of “Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC)” project on Thursday. It focused to enhance the marine and coastal resilience in the Caribbean nations.
The UBEC project was funded by the World Bank. This initiative is expected to bring positive outcomes by strengthening the environment for the blue economy and its reformation.
DY PM Hilaire, who is also serving as a Minister for Tourism took to his official social media handle (Facebook) to share the glimpses of his visit in the ground-breaking ceremony of UBEC 2024.
“On Thursday April 11th, 2024 I was delighted to attend the launch of “Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC)” project. This World Bank funded project will strengthen the enabling environment for the blue economy, economic recovery, and resilience of selected coastal assets in Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines”, added Tourism Minister Hilaire.
Some of the tourism projects organised under the UBEC are as follows,
- The re-development of the Marigot Bay Waterfront
- The Revision of the National Tourism Policy and further advancement to the tourism Certification Program
- Design and Establishment of an Underwater Dive Sculpture Park
- A comprehensive demand study for the tourism transportation sector
In addition, he expressed the gratefulness on behalf of his Ministry for the grant component of USD1,000,000.00 from the World Bank. The fund was given to blue economy MSME, in order to enhance and support their businesses.
He assured that his Ministry will work diligently and dedicatedly to harness the full potential of the maritime sector. Such efforts displayed the unwavering efforts of DY PM Hilaire and his activeness in the country’s development projects.
Additionally, the Blue Economy refers to make sustainable use of the oceans for the economic growth of the nation. This programme ranges from 2022 to 2050. The area of interest of this initiative is to establish a national and regional investment platform for the Caribbean blue economy.
