The V.I. Port Authority is not going to spend $6 million to extend the Crown Bay pier without having money to pay for it or guarantees from the cruise lines that they'd send more ships.
VIPA Executive Director Gordon Finch said the expansion has been on the Port Authority s agenda for several years due to a request from the Florida Caribbean Cruise
Association. But "we do not have $6 million to $8 million sitting unencumbered in some bank to expend without assurances of a revenue stream to pay for it," the Independent reported Thursday.
Finch said the area could be better served by a shopping center like Havensight's that would be a draw for ships and their passengers. That development is being considered, he said at a news conference.
Finch said a VIPA priority is to begin building the Red Hook passenger terminal. Permits are in place and officials are developing the construction design, which will be similar to the Edward Wilmot Blyden Terminal on the waterfront.
The $5 million price tag for the terminal will be split between VIPA and the V.I. government.
