WILL SAINT LUCIA'S CONTROVERSIAL ONE-SIDED CONTRACT WITH GLOBAL PORTS HOLDING BE SET ASIDE AND CANCELLED?

In 2023, a contract was signed between the Saint Lucia Ministry of Tourism and the private company Global Ports Holding to manage, operate and redevelop cruise operations at Port Castries and Soufrière Bay in Saint Lucia. The agreement appears to be highly questionable in its face. It has an initial term of 30 years, with the option of an additional 10-year extension, bringing the potential total to 40 years.

Under the agreement, Global Ports Holding PLC, registered in the UK but organized in Turkey, and reportedly owned by Turkish nationals, will collect approximately US$10 per cruise passenger, while only around US$1 per passenger will go to the government treasury. Based on approximately 700,000 cruise passengers annually, the estimated revenue distribution would be:

SLASPA (government share): Approximately US$700,000 annually
Global Ports Holding: Approximately US$6.3 million annually

Global Ports Holding took over the port operations in early 2024 and began collecting passenger fees. However, after approximately two years, it has reportedly not begun any expansion work. In essence, Saint Lucia Government officials handed control of approximately US$7 million in annual passenger-fee revenue to a private company, revenue that should have benefited the government treasury. If multiplied by 40 years it becomes USD $ 280 million loss to St Lucia.

Will this contract, said by many to be unconscionable, and a gross insult to the citizens of Saint Lucia, be set aside, either by a court of competent jurisdiction, or the country's Parliament? We shall see, as more facts emerge that appear to make it either unenforceable, illegal, or even Ultra Vires; We will be watching.