Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines – With less than three months remaining until two major infrastructure projects funded by the Saudi Fund for Development hit their mandatory expiration date, Prime Minister Godwin Friday has declared an end to unhurried, routine implementation, warning that slow progress will no longer be tolerated after years of stagnation on the initiatives.
The two at-risk projects, valued at a combined EC$43 million, are among three large-scale development initiatives financed by a total Saudi Fund portfolio of EC$177.7 million, the bulk of which – EC$170.6 million – remains completely unspent. What makes the delays more striking is that the two time-sensitive projects were first signed more than three years ago, in May 2023, with work yet to break ground when Friday’s New Democratic Party administration took office 11 months ago, following the November 2025 general election.
Addressing the Senate during parliamentary proceedings on October 22, 2026, Friday confirmed he would take personal charge of monitoring project progress and enforcing financial accountability, responding directly to a question from opposition Senator Carlos James of the former ruling Unity Labour Party. James had requested a full, project-by-project breakdown of all spending, unspent balances, and progress on drawing down the Saudi Fund loan allocations.
Breaking down the full portfolio for lawmakers, Friday outlined that the first two agreements, both signed in May 2023 and scheduled to expire December 31, 2026, allocate EC$26.9 million for the construction of cultural and artistic hubs across three communities – Bellevue, Troumaca, and Petit Bodel, and EC$16.2 million for a new community health centre in South Rivers. The third agreement, a EC$134.6 million initiative focused on reconstructing and upgrading public buildings and facilities damaged by repeated natural disasters, was signed in April 2024 during the tenure of the previous Unity Labour Party government, with an expiration date of December 31, 2027. This broader project spans multiple critical sectors, including education, housing, national security, health, and sports.
“The Honourable Senator who asked the question should be familiar with it because it was signed during the time of their administration,” Friday noted in reference to James’ former governing party.
With deadlines fast approaching, Friday confirmed his administration is currently revising the scope and implementation plan for the planned cultural hubs project, a core allocation within the expiring agreements. “We have made alternate arrangements as to how we think the use of those funds and the nature of the project would be more effective while maintaining the same objectives,” he told lawmakers, though he declined to share specific details of the revised plans. He emphasized that urgent acceleration of all active work is non-negotiable, pointing out that when the new government took office, little to no on-the-ground work had been completed across the entire portfolio.
“When we came into office… all we had was thought on plans and papers. Nothing had been started,” the prime minister said.
Friday also clarified the unique disbursement structure of the Saudi Fund financing, explaining that the institution does not transfer loan funds directly to the national government’s consolidated account. Instead, all payments follow a direct disbursement model, where the Saudi Fund pays contractors, suppliers, and consultants directly for pre-approved, eligible work completed. As the local executing agency, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is required to submit formal withdrawal requests and full supporting payment documentation to the fund before any funds can be released, a process that only moves forward once work is underway.
“The work has to commence; it has to be ongoing” before those funds can be used, Friday explained.
To date, only EC$3,394,702.04 has been disbursed across the entire portfolio, leaving the EC$170.6 million unspent balance Friday confirmed. Broken down by project, the unspent balances stand at EC$26.6 million for the cultural hubs initiative, EC$16 million for the South Rivers health centre, and EC$128 million for the disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation project. The limited government-funded pre-implementation work that has been completed includes design and site preparation for the cultural hubs, the Calliaqua Polyclinic, and three additional community clinics in South Rivers, Redemption Sharpes, and Paget Farm, with the government covering EC$2,962,410.94 for these early activities, and an additional EC$482,291.10 covered directly by the Saudi Fund.
The prime minister made clear he is deeply dissatisfied with the glacial pace of implementation, particularly given the fast-approaching deadlines and the massive amount of unused development capital tied up in the portfolio. “These are funds that are available that need to be utilised for the objectives set out,” he said, adding that the projects are designed to expand public access to critical services, create local jobs, and drive long-term national development. “If we don’t execute them, there is no point in us having the resources at our disposal.”
Friday confirmed he has already instructed ministry officials to establish clear, time-bound milestones, assign explicit responsibility for each task, and submit regular progress updates to his office, a accountability framework he has already implemented for projects funded by the World Bank as well. “I personally will take a direct interest in ensuring that there is reporting on a regular basis, that there are targets set, that people are assigned to ensure that those are done and then to account for it on a regular basis,” he said.
In follow-up questioning, James asked whether the revised plans for the cultural hubs meant the original facilities would not be built, and whether the government had already begun the process of requesting deadline extensions for the two projects set to expire at the end of 2026. Friday confirmed that the government has already initiated extension requests, acknowledging that “we have less than three months. So yes.”