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VIPA Paddles through Pandemic Pressures
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) estimated a loss of $16 million in revenue during an update to the 34th Legislature on March 29th.
During his testimony to the Government Operations and Consumer Protection Committee in St. Thomas, VIPA’s Executive Director, Carlton Dowe cited a loss of $9.2 million in marine revenues for the Fiscal Year 2020, which went unfunded by federal relief packages. That year, VIPA operated on a budget of $175 million to run two airports and 14 seaports.
“The last two years have been particularly challenging for the VI Port Authority as we coped with the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Carlton Dowe, Executive Director of VIPA. “Repeated shutdowns, varying travel restrictions, and general fear of traveling during the pandemic negatively impacted the travel and tourism industry.”
Two years later, VIPA’s budget increased to $201 million for FY 2022, and the agency still manages an estimated $50 to $60 million in capital projects through local and federal assistance. On a local level, VIPA estimated that it received $10 million in funding combined from the 33rd and 34th Legislatures to fund “major port developments.” Those projects included:
• $440,000 – Charlotte Amalie Waterfront fendering
• $900,000 – improvements to the Boynes Dock in Cruz Bay
• $920,000 – to construct a fishing facility in Cruz Bay
• $400,000 – to design a multipurpose facility for cultural events on St. John
• $3.8 million- local match for the Gordon A. Finch Molasses Pier Project
• $1.7 million – local match for the HERA Terminal Expansion Project
• $2.05 million – funding to repair the Abramson Pier tender landing
• $400,000 – Abramson Pier concrete storm panel repair
• $3.5 million – HERA Terminal second floor build-out design (pending approval by Governor Albert Bryan Jr.)
With VIPA delicately balancing both major projects and major revenue losses, Senator Alma Francis Heyliger asked what austerity measures VIPA had employed in order to maintain its operations.
“I need to know what you're prepared to do to make sure you survive,” said Sen. Francis Heyliger.
Dowe, VIPA’s Executive Director, said that the agency had pulled back from its rehiring of retirees for non-critical jobs, but had little wiggle room beyond that.
“As long as these facilities are open,” said Dowe. “We have to man them.”
During his previously submitted testimony, Dowe had cited the retention of all 365 VIPA employees as the agency’s most significant achievement, but other major accomplishments certainly helped create that opportunity.
This year, VIPA expects to complete two major projects:
“The Gordon A. Finch Molasses Pier ($12.2M) landside improvements should be completed by June this year. We will soon finish the construction of a new cargo processing facility at this port located on Krause Lagoon on St. Croix. All cargo operations will move from Gallows Bay to the Molasses Pier, allowing us to further develop Gallows Bay into a passenger facility for ferries, luxury vessels, and small cruise ships.
The Wilfred Bomba Allick Port and Shipment Center ($15.9M) warehouse construction should also be finished in the upcoming months. This facility was destroyed in the 2017 storms, and we now have a stronger building that will better withstand storm conditions. We are currently collaborating with tenants to coordinate a seamless move-in schedule.”
The 34th Legislature recently approved a measure that would allow VIPA to establish its own form of self-insurance. VIPA estimates that the legislation will save them about $1.2 million per year. And the capital investments on the horizon show promise, as per Dowe.
Several lawmakers looked forward to the completion of a 561 car parking garage with designated taxi and rental car operations areas, slated for completion in summer of 2023, which Dowe states nets an estimated $130,000 per month in revenue.
“I think that was a definite plus for that area,” said Sen. Francis Heyliger, a life-long St. Thomas resident. “Someone that we've been traversing back and forth to St. John, dealing with constituents and even the legislature. Almost every time I got there, I can't find parking. Because clearly it's being utilized.”
With pandemic travel restrictions now easing with caution, VIPA hopes that ships remain on the horizon, eager to dock in the Territory since it welcomed its first cruise ship back to the Virgin Islands in July 2021.
