{"id":260394,"date":"2025-12-04T14:21:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T18:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=260394"},"modified":"2025-12-04T14:21:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T18:21:28","slug":"government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government will access $100 million in financing to launch a major new road construction programme in 2026, expanding on the island\u2019s largest era of road and highway development in more than a generation.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Browne made the announcement during Thursday\u2019s presentation of the 2026 national budget, saying the next phase of road works will target several high-traffic corridors, rural communities and areas where aging infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with growth in housing and commercial activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister said his administration has already rebuilt, resurfaced or upgraded dozens of major and secondary roads over the past decade, citing the Friars Hill Road and Airport Road reconstruction, the Old Parham Road upgrades, the Sir George Walter Highway improvements, and extensive works across rural districts.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/div>\n\n\n\n

He said the new $100 million programme will expand that progress, addressing bottlenecks, strengthening hurricane resilience and improving public safety. Planned works will include rehabilitation of asphalt surfaces, reinforced drainage systems, modern signage and lighting, and structural upgrades to accommodate heavier commercial traffic.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While full details will be outlined by the Ministry of Works during the budget debate, Browne signaled that priority areas include key arteries leading into St. John\u2019s, connecting roads in the All Saints and Clare Hall areas, and links to expanding residential zones and industrial clusters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister said the road programme is being made possible by the country\u2019s improved fiscal position, including a primary surplus of $254.9 million and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 61.4 percent \u2014 the closest Antigua and Barbuda has ever been to the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union\u2019s 60 percent target.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He argued that strong revenues from tourism, construction and imports have created the space for government to accelerate long-term development projects without compromising fiscal stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis $100 million road programme is about preparing Antigua and Barbuda for the next decade of growth,\u201d Browne said, emphasizing that reliable and resilient infrastructure remains essential for economic competitiveness and community development.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry of Works will provide a detailed schedule of targeted roads when the budget debate resumes next week.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government will access $100 million in financing to launch a major new road construction programme in 2026, expanding on the island\u2019s largest era of road and highway development in more than a generation. Browne made the announcement during Thursday\u2019s presentation of the 2026 national budget, saying the next phase […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":257817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government will access $100 million in financing to launch a major new road construction programme in 2026, expanding on the island\u2019s largest era of road and highway development in more than a generation. Browne made the announcement during Thursday\u2019s presentation of the 2026 national budget, saying the next phase […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-04T18:21:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-04T18:21:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:683\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-04T18:21:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-04T18:21:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/\"},\"wordCount\":352,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/\",\"name\":\"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-04T18:21:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-04T18:21:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png\",\"width\":1536,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"All Saints Road Update\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says","og_description":"Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government will access $100 million in financing to launch a major new road construction programme in 2026, expanding on the island\u2019s largest era of road and highway development in more than a generation. Browne made the announcement during Thursday\u2019s presentation of the 2026 national budget, saying the next phase […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2025-12-04T18:21:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-04T18:21:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:683\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says","datePublished":"2025-12-04T18:21:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-04T18:21:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/"},"wordCount":352,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/","name":"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png","datePublished":"2025-12-04T18:21:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-04T18:21:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-13-2025-12_21_14-PM.png","width":1536,"height":1024,"caption":"All Saints Road Update"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/government-to-draw-down-100m-for-new-road-programme-pm-says\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Government to Draw Down $100M for New Road Programme, PM Says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260395,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260394\/revisions\/260395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/257817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}