On a press release by WICO Wednesday, March 11, the plan called “Long Bay Landing”, which is for the construction of a new cruise ship pier in downtown St. Thomas has been cancelled due the foreseen possible negative effects to the quality of life of Virgin Islanders.
Randolph Knight, WICO board chairman, said that the panel “contemplated this decision intensely and at the heart of our decision to suspend the Long Bay Landing Project is the potential negative impact this project could have on the quality of life of Virgin Islanders as well as the visitor experience given the proposed location.”
According to WICO boards members, they came up with the decision due to their notion that they had not enough information about the impact the project can do in the environment such as it could add to the congestion of the key artery in the downtown area.
The Long Bay Landing project was also said could damage the natural magnificence of Charlotte Amalie Harbor and was not in-line with the already approved projects of Charlotte Amalie Revitalization and Veterans Drive Design that have conceived a budget of more than $150M.
Knight and the rest of the board members left a promising word that they would find a more feasible area to pursue the project with the help of the executive staff, V.I. Port Authority, members of the Legislature and the community.
“We recognize that the visitor demand for St. Thomas continues to grow and we want to remain the major player in the cruise market that we are,” Knight said. “However, while this growth opportunity is critical, we must minimize the impact on our environment while enhancing the overall destination experience.”
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As also Gov. Kenneth Mapp’s chief of staff, Knight assured the public that the government would continue to lend its helping hands in finding the perfect location for the project.
“We have already communicated this shift to the key cruise partners who have been in dialogue with the territory on this project, and while this particular location poses many concerns it is in no way a signal that the Virgin Islands is not dedicated to building the necessary capacity for the growing cruise industry,” Knight said.
WICO Cancels The Long Bay Landing Project
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