At State Of The Territory Address Tonight, Mapp Will Unveil Major Project For St. Croix

ST. THOMAS — Governor Kenneth Mapp will give his second State of the Territory tonight, at the Earl B. Ottley Legislative Hall here, and his speech is expected to be markedly different from his first address, which painted a gloomy picture of  the territory with strong words such as the islands being near the brink of financial collapse.

In an interview with The Consortium earlier this month, the territory’s leader said he would be announcing major news at his second SOTA, unveiling new developments aside from the opening of the oil storage terminal on St. Croix. He will also recount the successes of his first year in office, highlighting those efforts as major, considering the state in which he met the territory.

The governor said because of the $220 million windfall from the ArcLight agreement, the government would not need to borrow funds for operating expenses for the next three fiscal years, but his administration will venture to the bond market for what he calls “significant investments in our infrastructure,” and one particular St. Croix project that is significant in size.

“I don’t want to jump before my State of the Territory message,” the governor told The Consortium earlier this month, “but we’re going to talk about a major project for St. Croix that will far exceed $15 million for hotel.” Mr. Mapp made the revelation while answering a question that suggested using some of the ArcLight agreement funds towards a hotel on St. Croix. “We’re going to talk about investments for infrastructure, for sports tourism and how that will affect St. Croix and affect the territory. We’re going to talk about how we’re going to have $100 million that we’re going to invest in our road systems on St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John.

“And my commitment is to work with members of the Legislature as we work to move these projects forward, and we move projects that the Legislature itself has primary interest in, and how we will come together to figure that out.”

The event will start at 6:30 p.m. this evening, and can be watched here, on the government access network on channel 6, on WTJX Channel 12, and also on WTJX-93.1 FM.