The St Lucia government has named one of its major infrastructural works in honour of the man who engineered it, the late Jamaican Moses Matalon.
The Pigeon Island causeway, described as an engineering masterpiece that reclaimed acres of land to form a calm and picturesque bay, has been renamed the Moses Matalon Causeway.
It links the mainland of St Lucia to its old colonial fort.
The sign was erected recently with the involvement of Sandals Resorts International.
“The prime minister of St Lucia told me about the plans and asked that Sandals, if possible, do the signage. It was a pleasure,” Sandals Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart said.
“I am indeed proud to see the astounding contribution of a remarkable son of Jamaica on St Lucia’s development. His work has created one of the calmest and most beautiful bays in the country and has transformed the entire area. Moses Matalon was clearly a man of extraordinary vision,” said Stewart, who is also chairman of this newspaper.
He said that the engineering work Matalon did created more than 125 acres, which now houses one of the most successful hotels in the Caribbean, Sandals Grande St Lucia.
In 1970, St Lucia’s premier at the time, Sir John Compton, saw tourism as a viable replacement for agriculture as the island’s economic mainstay. But to encourage more tourists to flock the island, Compton recognised the need for more conveniences to buttress the burgeoning industry.
With Matalon’s help, the swamp lands of the Gros Islet town in the island’s north were drudged to create what is now the Rodney Bay Marina, stamping St Lucia’s authority on the regional yachting stage.
In addition to the marina and the causeway, Matalon’s footprint on St Lucia can also be vividly seen in the heart of its capital, Castries, where he piloted the reclaiming of lands to shore up the country’s main sea ports, which now accommodate cargo and cruise vessels.
“Lady Compton was really excited about the road,” Stewart shared. “It’s something she had wanted to see done for many years.”
Sandals Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart beside the sign for the Moses Matalon Causeway which was erected recently with the involvement of Sandals Resorts International.
As seen on:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/St-Lucia-names-causeway-in-honour-of-Moses-Matalon_19224144
