The government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has launched an EC$3.285 million (approx. 600,000 euros) project to demolish and rebuild the Bequia Fish Market, with officials billing the EU‑funded facility as a climate‑resilient anchor for the country’s emerging “blue economy”.
The rehabilitation, already under way at the Port Elizabeth waterfront, is being financed by the European Union through the Biodiversity Support Programme for ACP and Coastal Environments (Biospace Project), implemented by the OECS Commission. Hutchinson Construction Company Ltd., a Vincentian firm, is the main contractor.
Prime Minister Godwin Friday told the ceremony that the project is not just about replacing an ageing structure, but about signalling how seriously his administration takes fisheries as an economic driver.
“The fact that the blue economy is a pillar of our economic strategy says to you that we place enormous importance on your success,” said Friday, who is also MP for the Northern Grenadines, which includes Bequia.
“If the fishing sector, the blue economy, does not succeed, it makes it difficult for us as an administration to succeed.”
He said the EC$3.2 million grant from the EU was secured under the previous administration but is now being accelerated, with government pushing to complete construction within seven to eight months and open the facility by mid‑2027.
“A grant means you doh ha’ to pay it back,” the prime minister noted in a brief media interview after the ceremony, speaking in the Vincentian vernacular and stressing that such large EU projects are now rare in the region and must be “built to last” and properly maintained.
Modern, climate‑resilient facility
Fisheries Officer Lorenzo George outlined the technical scope of the project, which will replace the more than 30‑year‑old structure with a two‑storey, 2,856 square‑foot facility designed for modern fish handling, processing and administration.
The ground floor will house a fish processing and cleaning area, freezer and chiller capacity, an ice machine, a fish supply shop and office space.
The first floor will include an administrative office, a conference room and male and female restrooms.
George said the building will be constructed with reinforced concrete foundations, columns, beams, roof and slabs, stainless steel windows, marine‑grade doors, upgraded plumbing and electrical systems, and its own water storage and rainwater harvesting.
“This project comes at a cost of EC$3.285 million, aimed at delivering a modern, safe, resilient and efficient, fit‑for‑purpose facility for the fishing community of Bequia,” he said, adding that the design followed consultations with fishers and other stakeholders.
Contractor tackles difficult site conditions
Managing Director Richard Hutchinson said his company began work on 18 June and is already about 70% complete on the foundations, despite challenging conditions at the waterfront site.
He said the area was once an informal garbage dump, forcing the team to excavate compacted waste, old machinery, electrical debris and composted material before importing suitable fill and compacting it to carry the new foundations.
Another major challenge has been seawater intrusion at high tide. Hutchinson said his crew is pumping the site twice, sometimes three times a day, including in the early hours of the morning, to prevent saltwater from contaminating the structural concrete.
The new foundation uses high‑strength C30 concrete, and parts of the original 12‑inch‑thick slab have been integrated where structurally sound, in order to stabilise the base and extend the lifespan of the building.
“That alone can tell you that down the road from 30 or 40 or 50 years, our construction footing should remain steady and strong,” Hutchinson said, adding that the aim is to deliver a facility that serves not just fishers but “the greater environment” for decades.
Govt: fisheries now a standalone priority
Minister of Fisheries, Marine and Land Conservation and Climate Resilience Conroy Huggins framed the project as part of a broader effort to reposition fisheries as a standalone economic pillar, rather than an adjunct to agriculture.
He said that although the sector had been “well positioned” 30–35 years ago, “in the last recent decades, that really did not take place”.
“Quite naturally, today is a special day in the life of the Ministry of Fisheries,” Huggins said.
“From the administration standpoint, one of the things that we did very early was to give fisheries a standalone ministry … The fishery sector is too important of a sector to be twinned under agriculture.”
Huggins said there are currently nine established fisheries centres nationwide, and that his ministry has found “the sad reality” that “all of the facilities at present are in need of restoration and rehabilitation”.
Alongside Bequia, rehabilitation works are under way or being advanced at:
- Chateaubelair Fisheries Centre, where restoration started in June and is expected to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027;
- The Kingstown Fish Market, where the administrative complex is being refurbished and equipment replaced; and
- The large but long‑underutilised Owia facility, which the prime minister later described as a priority for activation.
Huggins said the Bequia market is expected to be structurally completed by the first quarter of next year and “hopefully by June next year, the facility will be up and running”.
“What is taking place here today is just in line with the government’s vision for the development and the expansion of the fishery sector and the development of the blue economy as an economic pillar,” he said.
The government has identified four main economic pillars: agriculture; fisheries and the blue economy; tourism; and a “new economy” comprising sports, culture, the creative industries and ICT.