St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the official host country for the inaugural UK Caribbean Infrastructure Conference, which will take place at the Beachcombers Hotel on November 20 -24, 2023. The theme of this conference is Building Resilience for All and is being held in partnership between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
More than 50 delegates from 8 Caribbean countries and 1 UK overseas territory will participate in this week-long conference, which will focus on capturing valuable lessons from the 13 transformational infrastructure projects being implemented under the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (UKCIF). Participants will discuss the successes and lessons learnt while designing and building inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable infrastructure in the region. They will also benefit from capacity building sessions being delivered by IPA (the UK’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority) and BSI (British Standards Institute) on regulations, standards and best practice approaches to deliver climate resilient infrastructure.
On the first evening of the conference, delegates have been invited by the British High Commission and the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to a Welcome Reception that will be held at Coconut Grove. Mr. Isaac Solomon, Vice President of Operations, CDB, His Excellency Scott Furssedonn-Wood, British High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and The Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, St Vincent and the Grenadines are all expected to deliver remarks.
Later in the week, delegates will also participate in sessions on Disability Inclusion in Infrastructure, Women and Youth in Construction as well as a Site Visit to the UKCIF Kingstown Port Modernisation Project which is one of the projects receiving substantial grant funding from the UK Government
The UK Caribbean Infrastructure Conference will contribute to strengthening the network of infrastructure professionals across Caribbean governments and drive forward the ongoing work on building resilient and inclusive infrastructure in the region. It is made possible through the UKCIF which is a £350 million grant-funded programme from the UK Government to build climate-resilient, inclusive infrastructure and boost economic growth in the Caribbean. UKCIF is administered by the CDB.