VANTERPOOL TOUTS $100M ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM TORTOLA CRUISE PIER

Mark Vanterpool, leader of the People's Leadership Movement, has defended the Cyril B Romney Tortola Pier Park as a transformative investment, claiming it injected more than $100 million into the BVI's economy through job creation and strengthened cruise tourism.

Vanterpool held the Communications and Works portfolio under the former National Democratic Party government. Speaking on the PLM's inaugural People's Mic podcast episode, he stated: "We have added more than 100 million dollars to the GDP of the BVI through the Tortola Pier Park project." He provided no economic analysis to substantiate this claim.

The facility ultimately cost $82.9 million, well above the initial $50 million projection. Vanterpool attributed the increase to a shift in scope: once the government recognised that its original design could not handle the larger vessels it wanted to attract, it commissioned fresh professional assessments and expanded the plans. He maintained that an independent study validated the revised expenditure as reasonable value.

A separate controversy surrounded the project's funding. The government diverted $8 million earmarked for sewerage infrastructure in East End and Long Look towards the cruise pier instead. Vanterpool explained that the Caribbean Development Bank had requested a reassessment of that sewerage scheme, including its pipe specifications, which delayed it. He expressed no regret over the reallocation, framing it as a necessary trade-off to generate economic returns.

Vanterpool noted that the pier's buildings proved resilient during the 2017 hurricane season, prompting several government agencies to temporarily base operations there due to minimal structural damage. He expressed hope that a future PLM administration would complete the remaining development phases, describing the project as a legacy of the former NDP administration and then Premier Dr D Orlando Smith.

Looking ahead, Vanterpool predicted the facility would soon handle a million passengers annually and called the prospect "a great feat." He acknowledged disappointment that no additional phases had been pursued in the decade since completion.