The next stupid idea...

See http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?articleId=1469583798

My goodness. That really is stupid.

The article says that residents were "receptive". Apparently, that is what O'Neal told BVI Platinum, because it is not true.

There was no one from the news at the meeting. BVI Platinum only knows about it because a week after the meeting there was nothing in the news about it, so I emailed BVI Platinum to get it reported and out in the open.

If implemented, it would destroy Anegada as we know it.

Beyond absurd..dredge ten miles out and tear out the reef?? Makes the drag strip sound like a genius idea..

Malcolm - Remember me telling you about this at Gene's?

Most people that attended the "town meeting" thought that it was some sort of joke, and openly laughed at the whole idea.

Indeed..love his "positive spin" on it..amazing..

Anegada needs to be a separate district with its own minister. We are nearly as large as Tortola yet we have no representation in the government.

Has this guy ever seen what a shipping port looks like?

Seems like those in government are looking at new ways to bring new business into the BVI, when perhaps what they should be doing is looking at what is currently doing well, what makes the BVI a destination people want to visit and build on that.

If you look at shipping ports around the world, they aren't in tourist destinations.

I do have some real world deep water port business background. Mostly Jebel Ali Port in Dubai. Built where there was nothing but flat sand and coral all in our lifetimes. First step in a deepwater port construction project is ten years or so of very real design and engineering. Then a massive construction project with many thousands of immigrant laborers. The cost is enormous with great riches to be made and lost. Ohhh... from a business side. All the new successful deep water transshipment ports are coupled with a major air cargo port. This one will never get a shovel in the sand. $10 - $20 Billion over 20 years would be the ballpark for this kind of project.

O'Neal hopes to buy support for this ridiculous plan from Anegadians by granting land ownership as has been promised for years. That is the bait that he is offering.

Yikes. Crazy.

Maybe a giant Walmart/Sams combo with and automated drone delivery service? Not sure how you would stock the warehouse though?

http://bvinews.com/new/oneal-wants-port-built-for-chinese-goods-others/

Maybe the ferry brain trust could voodoo up a logistics plan?

I particularly like the comment " Is it April the 1st"

One of my favorite movies is Club Paradise. When friends come over and watch it they think its just a silly movie. Now I can show them the sequel being filmed in Anegada. The dredged reef will stir up so much sediment it will kill surrounding reef. In college I lived 2 miles from the Norfolk International Terminals. The dust, noise, pollution and light pollution will cover ALL of Anegada.

grandiose ideas by politicians for infrastructure projects or "bright ideas" with tax payer money often to help a crony make $$ are not unique to the Caribbean. From the bridge to nowhere to cash for clunkers every local state and federal government has examples of such silliness that took hold and wasted money. Unfortunately the BVI of late seems intent in going all in on projects that if unsuccessful will bankrupt the tiny nation and devastate the population's relatively good standard of living. If you spend billions on an airport and commercial flights don't happen from various North American locations on a regular basis, it will fail. That will pale in comparison to tens of billions over years dredging and building the infrastructure on Anegada for this boondoggle. Sad, very sad.

And what, 250 people? And how many are citizens?

Ain't gonna happen, and probably shouldn't. JVD and Anegada are the "outside" children of the BVI.

That's like saying Wyoming should have as many congressmen as California!

And "we"? Can you vote?

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/smashpc.gif" alt="" />

The Pittsburgh Int'l. Airport is a prime example of this. Promises from politicians and USAirways to build a state of the art airport for their hub and now it sits mostly empty. USAirways blatantly broke every promise made and bolted!

Doesn't matter.


Sad that you have that opinion, but you are entitled to it.


Wyoming has just as many senators as California.


Makes no difference. I care. Obviously, you don't.

So he wants to turn Anegada into a giant industrial complex, but of course he says all the while he will keep it "pristine."

Wow. Just, wow.

Dr. Hubert O'Neal, Ninth District Representative is an MD and Opthamologist there should be some STEM intellegence there. Deepwater ports are massive complex engineering and construction enterprises. At this point in history that is just not going to happen in the BVI. The BVI is just to many decades behind the competition. There is simply no way to raise the money and no way catch up with the competition already spending billions to stay ahead. Miami is spending over $2 Billion just to deepen their port for the new ships.

Either Dr. O'Neal is mislead and clueless here or there is some other cryptic political path in the stew. The very real issue is the lack of a long term sustainable revenue plan for the BVI. Is Anegada self sustaining and a positive contributor today? What does Dr. O'Neal really want.

Container Terminal:




Grand Turk Beach Front Cruise Ship Facility:

Walker,

I am not disagreeing with you or the other posters that this idea is stupid. It also probably won't happen, as my understanding is that this whole business about transshipment ports relates to the recent widening of the Panama Canal. From what I have read, everybody wants to build a transshipment port, but ultimately, there will not be very many in the Caribbean. And the BVI is too late. And broke, although the Chinese might build it for them. Except that it's too late. Hubert is posturing, and/or looking to enrich a relative or friend with yet another "feasibility study".

You seem to be ignoring that the BVI, unlike the USA, does not have a bicameral legislative branch. While I am not sure how the districting is done, the nine electoral districts had very similar total vote counts (approximately 1000-1200) in the 2015 election, implying similarily sized electorates. Virgin Gorda and Anegada make up the 9th District. The 2010 census lists Anegada at 285 residents and Virgin Gorda with 3939 out of the 28054 shown for the entire BVI. But you think Anegada should be the 10th District? As I said before, it ain't gonna happen.

"Outside child" is an island term for a bastard, and historically, that is how the citizens and residents of JVD, Anegada, and even to a limited extent Virgin Gorda have been treated. Doesn't make it right, but it's true.

There is an oft-repeated thread on TTOL-BVI that "the government shouldn't do this or that, that they are ruining our tropical paradise, where we have been vacationing for once a week for twenty years." You can be right all you want, but ultimately it's their country, and their country to screw up, if that's what they choose to do. And owning property there, as you do, buys you nothing, you can't vote, and unless you've jumped through some serious hoops, you cannot even live there more than 6 months out of the year in the house you own. Or rent it out (legally) when you're not there.

And I do care.

I'm sure he's visted a lot of the other pristine industrial ports. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

I did hear they have come up with a new airport proposal. It's going to be a floating runway in the middle of the Francis Drake! Smiths and native sun have already been awarded the exclusive rights to bring the passengers ashore in Tortola. To keep it simple passengers will quickly and efficiently clear customs at the existing facility in Roadtown.
They will tie the new runway construction together with a new helipad to shuttle guests to JVD. They plan to put it in White Bay where the shallow 6 foot depth behind the reef will make it quick and easy to fill it all in for the pad!

Uhhhm....any chance they can make use of those roundabout traffic lights that got stuffed into the closet years ago?
Perhaps on the runway to control aircraft landings?

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Rofl.gif" alt="" />

Quite honestly, I do not believe that there is any possibility of this ever really happening. However, I do believe that it is quite possible that the BVI government will spend a lot of money (that it is desperately short of) to pursue this far enough to realize that it is not feasible.