The budget allocated for developing five roads in Anguilla falls EC$3 million short of what is required, according to the infrastructure minister.
The previous government set aside $7 million for this financial year, but José Vanterpool said at least $10 million is needed to complete the works.
Speaking during a government press conference on Monday, 14 April, the minister said he had been receiving lots of questions from the public on the status of the roads.
He explained that last year, his ministry had identified ten roads for clearing and surfacing, but the total cost would have been about $33 million.
Instead five roads were allocated for development, including Jon Jon Road, Sandy Hill Beach Road, Patience Gumbs Road, North Hill Road and Phillips Drive.
Underbudgeted
The minister said that the amount requested to the government to fully complete those roads was in excess of $10 million, however only $7 million was allocated.
“So even without revisiting the capital fund or moving funds around, these five road projects were already underbudgeted by up to $3 million,” he added.
Additional problems have been identified, such as a lack of sidewalks in some of the designs which require more land acquisition and additional costs.
Vanterpool said the Jon Jon Road is about 95% complete and once that is finished, the ministry will assess the remaining allocated funds and decide how they should be spent.
He suggested that certain roads will be prioritised if they can fit into the budget, and added that more funds may have to be allocated.
“It is our administration’s priority to continue development, but we have to do so within the fiscal remits that we have and to make sure that we do so responsibly,” he said.
