Demolition work on the National Stadium at Waterford, St. Michael, is scheduled to commence on April 15, according to Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith.

The announcement was made during a press briefing at the facility on Tuesday, April 1.

Mr. Griffith acknowledged the delays in the project’s timeline but emphasised that the process is now fully under way.

“Yes, we took a while in getting here, but today is the start of the process and you will actually see the demolition taking place,” he said. “I want persons to know it’s been long in coming, but the Chinese are actually on island.”

He further noted that 25 work permits had already been granted, with an additional 15 submitted to accommodate the team involved in the construction phase.

Expressing pride in the project’s progress, the Minister described it as his “gold medal”, stating: “We thought it would be a sprint, but it has turned out to be a 1500-metre race. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

In addition to the stadium redevelopment, Mr. Griffith revealed that Parliament had approved an extra 50 million dollars for the National Sports Council. Some of this funding will be used to construct two new 400-metre tracks – one in the east and another in the north of the island – as part of efforts to bolster Barbados’ sports infrastructure.

“What we are looking to do is to buttress what’s happening here at the National Stadium,” he explained. “We have asked the National Sports Council to start the process in the first quarter of the financial year.”

He added that the Government is committed to ensuring athletes are properly prepared and have access to adequate facilities.

China’s Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Liang Jie, also addressed the media, emphasising that the National Stadium Project highlights the strong bilateral relationship between Barbados and China.

He noted that nearly two years of technical work had led to the finalisation of the design and mobilisation of the general contractor, adding: “I am fairly pleased that through this joint effort, we can witness the realisation of a magnificent, high-standard, high-cost, totally new National Stadium.”

The new stadium will be developed in two phases. Phase One will feature 10,000 seats and is expected to take between 26 and 29 months to complete. Phase Two will add another 10,000 seats, bringing the total capacity to 20,000. 

The original National Stadium, which was opened in October 1970, has in recent years fallen into a state of disrepair. The Government has deemed the facility outdated and unsuitable, and has moved forward with plans to construct a modern replacement that meets the needs of Barbadian athletes and the wider community. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith and China’s Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Liang Jie, shake hands to signal the start of the National Stadium Project, following a press briefing at Waterford, on Tuesday

The One Family Programme has launched a partnership with HNI Foundation Inc., the non-profit arm of Healthier Nation Initiative Inc. (HNI), to ensure good health is accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status. Supported by the Massy Foundation, this mission is looking to make significant strides in improving the health of Barbadians across local communities.

The first joint event in a planned series featured a medical team from Ross University and was held at the Church of God, Chelsea Road, Bayland, St. Michael. It provided health checks to a steady stream of clients and recorded their information for evaluation and follow-up. Clients attending the free health clinics are also granted access to the HNI exercise portal via the website https://hnicaribbean.com.

One Family’s Project Officer for Health and Housing, Rondell Trim, said ensuring optimum access to health care was a key pillar underpinning One Family’s mission and a good fit with partners like HNI and Massy Foundation.

“A key pillar underpinning the One Family mission is health. We cater to clients across Barbados who can benefit from access to medical care and support for a healthy lifestyle, and this collaboration ensures that we can bring that medical care into the community. This helps us to eliminate barriers like lack of transportation and mobility issues,” Trim said. He added that One Family sought to deploy additional mobile clinics that could go directly to homes to serve those who couldn’t afford basic medical care and faced barriers to accessing public care.

Sheldon Jones, co-founder and CEO of Healthier Nation Initiative Inc. and Chairman and director of the non-profit HNI Foundation Inc., said the goal was to make healthcare more affordable and healthy lifestyles accessible for people in Barbados and across the Caribbean regardless of their socio-economic status or resources. He said HNI was established in 2020, followed by the HNI Foundation in 2023, to make health care and healthy lifestyles practical, accessible, and sustainable.

“Our core belief is that health should not be tied to economics, so while HNI was focused on cost reduction, we established the Foundation to focus on outreach to communities. One Family knows where the needs are, and their partnership strengthens our community focus.”

“We are also grateful for the support of the Massy Foundation, which, beginning in 2024, committed to over BBD. $80,000 in funding to provide nutritional verified meal bundles to eligible clients to support the diet and nutritional aspects of their health transformation.”

Gillian Corbin, Project Administrator with Massy Foundation (Barbados) Inc., the charitable arm of Massy Stores, Massy Distribution, and Price Lo Supermarket, said they were pleased to address concerns about the impact of poor diet and nutrition on the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly among the youth.

“Health and the environment are a principal focus of the Massy Foundation, and NCD intervention is critical. HNI’s programme working with Ross University and One Family also speaks to our core values of love and care, collaboration, and continuous improvement,” Corbin said. (PR)

A new financing facility is being designed to fund the transition of the PSV sector from fossil fuel to electricity.

This disclosure came from Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, as she addressed the rebranding ceremony for the newly created Barbados National Energy Company Limited (BNECL), at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. The Barbados National Oil Company Limited and Barbados National Terminal Company Limited transitioned to this new entity, while the National Petroleum Corporation (NPC) will follow later.

Senator Cummins disclosed that the team from the Ministry of Energy and Business recently met with transport providers to discuss the sector’s transition.

“We have commenced [talks], having received from the Ministry of Finance, in one of those supplementaries that Barbadians don’t always pay attention to at the end of the financial year, the resources…to support the transitioning of the private sector vehicles into electrification.

“Those monies have now been received by FundAccess, and together with FundAccess, the Ministry of Energy team, the Smart Energy Fund and the AOPT and their teams, we are now designing a brand-new facility to finance the transition of the PSV sector into the electric sector,” Senator Cummins told her audience.

She further disclosed that at its meeting last Thursday, Cabinet gave approval for the pre-qualifications process to be launched for the Wind Farm at Lamberts, in St. Lucy.Additionally, she noted that by the end of this week, the public would be updated on the Energy Storage Tariff.

The Minister said Government would be going to the market in another few weeks with a request for proposals for the first tranche of battery energy storage systems.

“We have brought the BNECL into the planning meetings for them, and why? The Government of Barbados has to be an active player in our renewable energy future, and in so doing, I’ve asked the BNECL to be one of the critical partners playing a leadership role in driving battery energy storage solutions across this country, in support of… government-led projects….

“The Government has to begin to support these projects and get them connected to the grid by providing battery energy storage solutions, and the BNECL is meant to be the vehicle to drive that – you are powering our future,” she stressed.    

Senator Cummins told the BNECL staff members that they were central to implementing the National Energy Policy and the Energy Transition and Investment Plan. She added that the NPC has an obligation to continue working to build out the natural gas infrastructure, as she pointed out that a lot of detailed work had been done last year with the team.

“And what did that analysis tell us? That there needs to be a capital mains expansion programme throughout the country, and we needed to cost that. The Cabinet has now considered that natural gas expansion programme, and we have committed to go back to Cabinet within a six-month period to roll out a road map for how we can implement it,” she said.

Minister Cummins noted that natural gas exists in the Christ Church and St. Michael corridor, and some places inland, but it was necessary to expand it, so more Barbadians can have access to it. (PR/GIS)