St. John's Port is located in Amba in the Eastern Caribbean Sea and is a natural deep-water port. Several large sightseeing cruise ships docked neatly, and cargo ships came and went in a continuous stream... During the peak tourist season, St. John's Port, located in St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, is extremely busy. In September 2022, the reconstruction and expansion project of St. John's Port assisted by China was successfully completed. Since then, the country has the largest passenger and cargo mixed terminal in the Eastern Caribbean, bringing new boost to the local economic development.

Port St. John's Reconstruction and Expansion Project

According to reports, St. John's Port is the main channel for importing most of the living and production materials of Antigua and Barbuda, carrying about 95% of Antigua and Barbuda's imports of goods. St. John's Port has been in use for more than 50 years. The huge volume of cargo ships and the demand for tourism make this port with a shoreline of only 360 meters overwhelmed.

In June 2018, the governments of China and Antigua and Barbuda signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative. In September of the same year, the reconstruction and expansion project of St. John's Port, which was provided by the Export-Import Bank of China and undertaken by China Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd., officially started. The Antigua and Barbuda government hopes to take this opportunity to build St. John's Port into a shipping hub in the Eastern Caribbean and create new growth points for the Antigua and Barbuda economy.

In September 2022, the project will sign the completion handover certificate. Li Jian, general manager of CCECC Caribbean Branch, said that after the reconstruction and expansion of St. John's Port, the port's transportation capacity and efficiency have been greatly improved. Two 10,000-ton freighters are docked, and the annual throughput can reach 550,000 tons. Antigua and Barbuda can make full use of port carrying capacity and geographical advantages to build a regional freight distribution center and promote economic diversification and sustainable development.

Port facilities determine the size of ships that can enter and leave the port. After the completion of the reconstruction and expansion project, St. John's Port can berth large cargo ships and become a highly modernized and highly competitive port in the Caribbean region, with a very high degree of containerization. The general manager of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority, Telemark, is full of confidence in the future development of the port. He said that China's aid has made Antigua and Barbuda a big step forward in terms of port management, large-scale cargo handling, and serving the national economy.

The reconstruction and expansion project of St. John's Port has extensively recruited local employees to provide training on construction safety and operating skills, which will drive local employment. In August 2019, local Samuel joined the project as an on-site structural engineer. Samuel said that after the reconstruction and expansion of the port, the area has been expanded, the functional layout has been optimized, and the transportation capacity has been greatly improved.

A project for the benefit of the people that brings new opportunities. The local media commented on the reconstruction and expansion project of St. John's Port. After the renovation and expansion, the port with modern facilities will be able to provide transshipment and centralized shipping services. As of the end of October 2022, the port's re-opening has generated more revenue than the full year 2018 revenue. Editor/He Yuting