The Unity Labour Party administration is borrowing US$30 million from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and US$63 million from the World Bank.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said the money from the CDB is a policy-based loan that will be used across the government, rather than for a specific project.
“Remember I had said to you, we don’t have all the money to do this, not all the money to do that, and they should be signing that shortly,” he told the media recently.
“That is about 30 million US. We spent about half of it in advance already, so that go fill back the hole. Because sometimes you can’t wait, you know; have to get something from some other source when the thing come you fill back the hole,” Gonsalves said.
“Then for persons who saying, ‘Well, we see what’s happening. The election is later this year, right now, we’re negotiating with the World Bank, and in fact, the World Bank has agreed for the IDA — International Development Association — money, about US$63 million from 2026 going forward.”
General elections are widely expected by November, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.
Gonsalves, whose ULP administration is seeking a sixth five-year term in office, said he was not assuming that his party would win the polls.
“I’m operating on the basis that I winning the election and I preparing programmes, for next year and beyond. I ain’t just making an assumption. I’m operating on the basis that the people will return us for a sixth term.”
He said that the policy-based loan”isn’t tied to any particular thing.
“But the items which we are looking at, to prepare additional programmes from this money, which we are presenting to the World Bank.”
He mentioned a sustainable tourism and coastal erosion resilience project to deal with tourism sites, groynes, breakwaters and resanding.
“A second one: sustainable fisheries and livelihood enhancement project to do some infrastructure development at Ashton in Union Island, Buccament, Calliaqua, Clare Valley, Layou, Lowmans, Shipping Bay. You know, fish fries, support for the fishers and the like,” the prime minister said.
He said his government was doing some things but had to do more.
“TVET, skills development for construction, culture and the creative industries,” he further stated.
“You will see these in the manifesto and I’ll be able to tell you that I got the money lined up,” he said.
The prime minister spoke of the Kingstown Waterfront Revitalisation and Urban Renewal Project.
“That is to do the master plan to design the waterfront, the modern port and other infrastructure,” he said, noting that this will be done after the wharf is relocated when the new port is completed.
“… we need also to have another source to do the Grenadines ferry terminal; wharf for the Grenadines, which will go to the western side of where the port is now — the modern port which we now building,” he said.
As regards the policy loan, Gonsalves said that some loans are tied to projects.
“You must do your project, if it’s a school, you do the design, … you do all your tendering; you have your contractor, and so on. And then money will be drawn down in relation to that project.”
However, in relation to a policy-based loan, the CDB would evaluate the government’s performance.
“Are its fundamentals in order? Does it have good approach to fiscal policy, to national disaster, to social security. … And once they’re satisfied that your policies align with their own priorities, they will give you a policy-based loan so you can spend generally across the government,” the prime minister said.