Share this story
by Algernon Watts
Nearly two years after the government first announced plans to spend EC$50 million on improving Barbuda’s road network, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has renewed the commitment, although major construction has yet to begin despite earlier assurances that financing had been secured.
Browne outlined plans to invest approximately EC$50 million in road construction and rehabilitation during the first year of the programme, using financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and revenue arrangements involving luxury resort developer PLH.
The proposed expenditure includes approximately EC$35 million in CDB financing, with the government expected to provide additional funding through an arrangement under which a portion of taxes generated by PLH’s development activities would be directed towards road infrastructure.
The announcement, however, is not new.
As far back as October 2024, Browne announced that the government expected to spend approximately EC$50 million on Barbuda’s roads in 2025, insisting at the time that the necessary funding was already available.
The commitment was subsequently repeated in the government’s 2025 Budget Statement, which identified approximately EC$35 million in CDB financing and an agreement to allocate 50 percent of transfer taxes and certain other taxes and levies paid by PLH towards additional road development.
Despite those announcements, the government was still discussing preparations and construction schedules in July 2026.
At that time, Cabinet reported that work on the Two Mile Road connecting Barbuda’s airport to River Dock would begin shortly and was expected to be completed within eight weeks.
A contractor had reportedly been selected, while an independent project monitor was appointed to oversee construction.
By early October, however, the Ministry of Works was still conducting road assessments with the Barbuda Council ahead of the planned commencement of the project.
The latest assessment took place on 7 October, just days after Browne indicated that construction was expected to begin during the month.
The delays have left questions about the implementation of a project for which funding was publicly announced almost two years ago.
The proposed road improvements are part of a broader programme intended to address longstanding infrastructure deficiencies on Barbuda, particularly in and around Codrington and routes connecting residential communities, public facilities and transportation infrastructure.
In July 2025, Barbuda Council Chairman John Mussington disclosed that the scope of a CDB-funded road project had expanded from four kilometres to approximately nine kilometres of concrete roadway following assessments by Public Works officials.
The proposed improvements included sections of River Road and other routes identified as priorities.
The Department of Environment also published documents for public consultation in June 2026 covering road rehabilitation in the River Road and Codrington Wharf areas under the Hurricane Irma rehabilitation and reconstruction programme.
Those documents included an environmental and social management plan and assessments of the proposed road corridors.
The financing arrangements involving PLH also warrant further examination.
For Barbuda residents, the latest commitment comes against a backdrop of repeated announcements, revised timelines and continuing preparations.
With the government now pointing to an October construction start, attention will turn to whether physical works begin as promised and how much of the long-promised EC$50 million investment is ultimately delivered.