Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced an ambitious national initiative to deliver sweeping upgrades to the country’s aging road network, with a clear timeline of 12 to 18 months for substantial progress. Speaking during an appearance on the *Browne and Browne Show* aired on local outlet Pointe FM, the nation’s leader confirmed that the administration has already locked in more than $100 million in committed funding to advance construction and rehabilitation work across communities island-wide.
In a departure from past contracting models, Browne confirmed that the government has made a strategic policy shift to assign major infrastructure projects directly to the country’s Public Works Department (PWD), rather than relying exclusively on external private contractors. The prime minister highlighted that this in-house approach will cut unnecessary administrative and contracting costs, delivering better overall value for public spending on the program. “They’ll be able to do it far cheaper, and I think we’ll get better value for money,” Browne told listeners during the radio interview.
To equip PWD to take on the expanded workload, the government is implementing a series of structural upgrades to the department, including targeted recruitment of additional professional engineers and skilled construction workers. Browne added that salary adjustments are also being rolled out to make positions more competitive, enabling the department to attract higher-caliber skilled personnel to support the accelerated work schedule.
Browne expressed strong confidence that the expanded capacity of PWD will allow the government to tackle decades-long road infrastructure challenges that have long impacted communities across the country. “We believe that well-equipped Public Works will be able to resolve the country’s infrastructure [gap] maybe within the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.
While he acknowledged that the scope of work means it is impossible to rehabilitate every deficient road across the nation at the same time, Browne emphasized that the current pace and scale of the initiative mark a fundamental change from how road projects have been managed in the past. He noted that visible, rapid improvements are already visible across many parts of the island, and asserted that the entire program remains fully under government control. “We can’t fix all the roads at the same time… but we have it under control,” he added.
Notably, the prime minister made clear that the road improvement program will continue moving forward regardless of the outcome of the country’s upcoming general election. He warned against any actions that could disrupt the current momentum in infrastructure development, framing the project as a national priority that should transcend electoral politics.
In recent months, the Browne administration has steadily ramped up road construction activity, with active projects underway in multiple communities as part of a broader national push to modernize Antigua and Barbuda’s core public infrastructure.