Business View Caribbean Dec. 2018 / Jan. 2019

22 23 THE ANGUILLA AIR AND SEA PORT AUTHORITY “We currently have a staff of about 179 per- sons and we operate across four ports,” explains Acting CEO, Sherman Williams. “We have one airport (Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport) for air transfer in and out of Anguilla; we have the Blowing Point Ferry Port – that is a passen- ger port to connect to the neighboring island of St. Martin (French and Dutch), as well as other islands; we have the one cargo port, which is the Road Bay Port – that deals specifically with cargo coming in from other neighboring islands, as well as to and from Puerto Rico; and we have the cargo port (Corito Bay), which serves as the sole port for bulk fuel in and out of Anguilla.” In September, 2017, the island of Anguilla was hit by Hurricane Irma. A Category 5 Hurricane with 185 mph winds, Irma was one of the most powerful and catastrophic storms in history, and since that time, Anguilla has been in repair and rebuilding mode – including at properties under the auspices of the AASPA. “The three seaports should see significant infrastructure improvements over the next year,”Williams reports. “Blowing Point Port was the hardest hit,” he continues. “The terminal building was significantly destroyed to the point where the government engineers commissioned the building to be demolished as it wasn’t fit to have persons operating in it anymore based on the safety requirements. Currently, we’re in the final stages of accepting some UK grant aid to build a brand new terminal building and we’re hoping to start the project before the end of the year.We’re also hoping to have the supporting landscape around it, the parking lot, and other support services, repaired. In addition, we’re hoping to have a marina project that will coincide with the development of a new termi- nal building. At the cargo port at Road Bay, we also hope, by the end of this year, to start a new pier that will facilitate the bringing of vessels from North America directly to Anguilla.With the pier, we’re also hoping to have new contain- er platforms.” When Blowing Point is completely rebuilt, Anguilla looks forward to reclaiming its good tourist numbers, both in day-trippers, as well as long-stay visitors - those who remain on the island overnight to several weeks. “Day-trippers, the cruise visitors, come in just for six, eight, or ten hours and leave,” says Fahie. “In terms of day trippers, the traffic is usually in the region of 100-120,000. In the last year or two, the gov- ernment has signed development agreements for the development of cruise ship facilities, which in time should increase it to between 300,000 and 400,000. “But our bread and butter consists of the long-stay, and in 2016, which was the last year we didn’t have any major weather interrup- tions, the total long-stay was somewhere in the region of 80,000. The hurricane caused quite a substantial decline in the ’17-’18 season.We are