The Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Ernest Hilaire attended the launch ceremony of the “Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC)” project. The UBEC Project was funded by World Bank and was launched on Thursday, April 11th, 2024.
The Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC) project is aimed to boost Saint Lucia’s economy through the promotion of marine and coastal resilience. Moreover, this is a flagship initiative under the crisis response window, that has been created to assist the Ministry of Agriculture.
It is also to be noted that the project aimed to establish the regional and national investment platform in the direction of sustainable and integrated use of marine resources for economic growth along with improved livelihoods, and job generation while preserving the health of ocean systems.
Dy PM Ernest Hilaire also took to his social media handle to share information about this unique project. He posted on his Facebook page that “On Thursday, April 11th, 2024 I was delighted to attend the launch of the “Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC)” project. This World Bank-funded project has been introduced to strengthen the enabling environment for the blue economy, economic recovery, and resilience of selected coastal assets of Saint Lucia as well as Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines”.
Dy PM further stated that “Many important tasks will be executed under this umbrella project of UBEC. It will include the Design and Establishment of an Underwater Dive Sculpture Park, the Re-development of the Marigot Bay Waterfront, a Comprehensive Demand Study for the Tourism Transportation Sector, the Revision of the National Tourism Policy, and further advancement of the tourism Certification Program also”.
“My Ministry is also extremely grateful to the World Bank for the injection of a USD1,000,000.00 grant component to blue economy MSMEs. This will improve their businesses and I always want to underscore my Ministry’s commitment to harnessing the full potential of the maritime sector” Dy PM Ernest added.