Parliamentary Representative for Castries (south east) Hon. Guy Joseph, along with officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure held the official opening ceremony to mark the completion Forestierre Road Project.

The project included the construction of new drains, retaining walls, culverts, the erection of traffic signs, road markings for traffic safety and the total resurfacing of the road.

Parliamentary Representative for Castries (south east), Hon Guy Joseph, noted that Forestierre is one of the first communities to benefit from a road financed through the gas tax.

“When  the government made the decision because of our limited fiscal space to implement the gas tax for the road rehabilitation and road maintenance program, Forestierre can safely say that we have benefited from this as one of the first communities. The value of every property in Forestierre has appreciated because of this single road construction project.

He continued: “Roads are vital to any development agenda in any country; so these are not just political projects—roads play a very vital role in the development of any society.”

The project, commenced in June of 2019 and completed in December 2019, was financed by the Government of Saint Lucia through The Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Roads Programme at the cost of EC$6,290,000. The road rehabilitation project was implemented by local construction firm Skelly's Construction.

Kellyann Gajadhar, Office Manager at Skelly's Construction Services, said: “It is not simply a stretch of road, as impressive as it is. It creates a new pathway to the further development of our people, and it speaks well for the long terms viability of our country and our prospects for future development. This project created jobs for many persons within our community and our neighboring communities.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly rehabilitated Forestierre Road took place on Sunday, March 1.