PM Reiterates GOB’s Position on Compulsory Acquisition of Stake Bank Land

Prime Minister Briceño also reiterated his administration’s position on the compulsory acquisition of the acreage of disputed land on Stake Bank Island.  He explained to reporters why government finds it necessary to complete the cruise tourism project that was started by the Feinstein Group.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“As what I have explained, and I will say oy one more time, the Barrow administration passed two pieces of legislation for Stake Bank.  They have the definitive agreement and the first thing I said is that this is in the national interest of the country and we need to finish that.  We need to do this project. We got into government, now fast-forward to today, two hundred and seventy million dollars have been spent.  There’s a dispute between the investors which is something that we don’t need to get into, and now that project is washing away.  A few acres have already been washed away because nobody has been working, the seawall and stuff that has been needed, the millions of dollars that have been there on the infrastructure is just withering away.  When we look at the numbers on tourism, cruise tourism, they are going down, they are not going up because now the ships are bigger and they want to be properly anchored to get their passengers off on solid ground.  In this case, for Stake Bank.”