Housing and Works Minister Maria Browne says road construction across Antigua and Barbuda will intensify after the general election, pointing to a planned $100 million investment and expanded capacity within her ministry.
Speaking during a “Know Your Candidate” interview, Browne rejected suggestions that the current surge in road activity is temporary or tied only to the election period, insisting the works programme is part of a longer-term strategy.
“The best is yet to come,” Browne said, adding that the level of activity now visible on roads across the country will be “amplified” once funding is fully in place.
She said the government has already increased its operational capacity by engaging about 70 contractors and investing in its own fleet of heavy-duty equipment, reducing reliance on rentals and allowing more projects to move forward simultaneously.
Browne also pointed to cost reductions as a key factor behind the expansion, noting that the price of constructing concrete roads has been reduced significantly.
“When I first got into works, the cost per square foot was about $18… and we hammered it all the way down to 960,” she said, describing the move as a way to stretch public funds further and accelerate construction.
The minister said the pending $100 million loan will allow the government to scale up roadworks nationwide, including major and secondary roads as well as community routes that have gone years without proper infrastructure.
Projects expected to benefit include Anchorage Road Phase 2, Jonas Road, and key connecting routes in St. John’s, with works planned both during the day and at night to speed up delivery.
“You’re going to see more roadworks happening not only in the day but also in the night,” Browne said.
She also addressed concerns about whether the pace of works can be maintained, saying additional staff and stronger quality control systems are being put in place to ensure durability and standards as the programme expands.
Browne maintained that the current level of road activity reflects deliberate planning, not short-term election efforts.
“It’s not by osmosis… it is a plan that has been in action for a long time, and it is a plan that is working,” she said.
The general election is scheduled for April 30.
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GASTON Brown and his chain gang members. After just two and a half years, they called an election short of the full five years, as if they actually completed what they set out to do. But they didn’t. Our passport, once respected—people from Santo Domingo and others came to Antigua to get it—now it’s not even respected anymore. It was destroyed by this previous government through the CIP visa program, which attracted shady characters. And now, we have a sketchy election—billboards are being messed with, criminal behaviors are rampant. It’s so unfair to have a government that attracts these kinds of people and still calls this a fair election. On top of that, they’re outspending the UPP with the largest billboards, and even though the UPP has a few small ones, they still get vandalized. We also don’t understand why Antigua hasn’t had a functional hospital. We’re so far behind—our MRI machines are sketchy, the whole health care system is failing, and the customer service in Antigua is terrible. Government buildings are run down—bathrooms are awful, no maintenance. Yet this prime minister claims he’s a great leader, but he’s really leading us nowhere. It’s time for a real change.
So we didn’t see everything slow after by-election and elections in bolans and Pahram and old Pahram road at the back of the stadium and Collins main road?
Another one-sided propaganda interview by the ABLP State run media outlet ABS.
Like other ABLP candidate Members, Maria Bird-Browne wasn’t challenged, and she was allowed to drone on and on about “how well” she’s doing.
1) Garfield Burford never ask she “why the delay in road infrastructure?”
2) Why hasn’t she met her house building targets?
3) Also her zealous overreacting in DCA matters in regards to the police presence of removing posters
4) And the wanton destruction of an UPP structure
5) Furthermore, Burford never ask she to deny the rumours that her husband is grooming her to take over from his as leadership of the ABLP
Burford may as well have gone home and left Bird-Browne with he microphone and the camera man.
ABS should stand for Ablp Bias Sycophants
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