Business View Caribbean - November 2015 89
goes far behind the mere handling of cargo. “We be-
lieve that the time of considering ports just to be ba-
sic locations where we discharge cargo has come and
gone,” he says. “The port has to move further along
the supply chain. It has to offer more services; it has
to be more efficient; it has to expand and open itself
to create an economically facilitating environment that
can lead, ultimately, to what every government and ev-
ery citizen hopes to achieve: social transformation and
economic enhancement. This is the driving force of
what we’re establishing – a port that will help in trans-
forming the country. And so we’ve coined a phrase for
its development, which is ‘Changing the inland from
the Coastline.’”
Telemaque continues outlining his overarching vision:
“We think that it is the port that is going to lead to
the type of economic transformation that we need,
considering that at this point, we import almost every-
thing that we use. Our basic needs - food, clothing, and
shelter - come to us by ocean freight. We think that by
more efficiently handling that service and delivering a
more efficient service to the private sector, the ship-
ping lines will begin to trust that the Port Authority is
efficient, thereby reducing the cost of services to the
island. And the vendors, merchants, and supermar-
kets, will also recognize that the port is actually aiding
in their profitability
as well as a reduc-
tion in the cost of liv-
ing and an improved
quality of life for all
Antiguans.”
Plans for the new port
include the creation
of what Telemaque
calls a “logistics
park,” which he be-
lieves can ultimately
become the center of maritime commerce for the en-
tire OECS region, providing a duty-free environment
where goods can not only be imported, but where
manufacturers and exporters can manipulate loads
and get them to and from the neighboring islands. “So
we’ll bring the bulk cargo here,” he says. “The port is
big enough to facilitate that type of service and then
we’re trying to see if through the logistics park, we can
create some exports.”
In addition, the new port terminal is being designed to
attract private businesses that will be able to replace
some of the services now provided by the Port Author-
ity. “Currently, the Port Authority is the regulator and
service provider,” states Telemaque. “By becoming just
a regulator, we can allow the businesses, themselves,
to structure services that we would never get involved
in. We believe that a combination of a well-structured
logistics environment at the marine terminal can filter
into all the islands and thereby create a logistics chain
that can be attractive to businesses.
“Additionally, the current warehouse is owned and op-
erated by the Port Authority. We are proposing that we
build it and then engage the private agents, brokers,
and NVOCCs (non-vessel operating common carriers)
so that they can operate their businesses there. We
