USVI
Last week’s closure of the HOVENSA refinery in St. Croix
and the loss of more than 2,000 jobs will be a “complete body blow” to the economy of the United States Virgin Islands, according to USVI Governor John deJongh Jr. The cessation of the company’s refining operations on Jan. 18 was necessary after $1.3 billion worth of losses in three years, according to a company press release. The refinery will be converted into a fuel storage facility and retain about 100 employees, the release added. According to reports in the VI Daily News, the refinery represented about 20 percent of the USVI’s gross domestic product and generated more than $60 million in tax revenue. On Monday Mr. deJongh postponed his annual state of the territory address to give government officials more time to develop plans in response to the closing, the newspaper reported.
Antigua and Barbuda
Chinese government officials handed over a $1.1 million library and community centre to theAntigua and Barbuda government last Thursday, a sign of the countries’ deepening relationship, officials said. The new centre in Codrington, Barbuda is the latest in a three-decade trend of Chinese investment in the country, according to Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer. He added that China is currently finishing construction of a 30-megawatt power generation plant in Antigua. This project, though, has come under “unpatriotic and dangerous attacks” from “some quarters of the opposition and the media,” Mr. Spencer claimed.