Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that the government will become the majority owner of Blue Ocean, a new state-linked dredging and reclamation company, as part of an investment aimed at reducing reliance on foreign contractors and boosting national capacity in marine infrastructure.

Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show on Pointe FM, Mr Browne said the government will control around 75 percent of the company and has already purchased key pieces of equipment to begin operations.

“The government is now taking the majority stake in Blue Ocean. I think we’ll end up with about 75 percent ownership,” Mr Browne said. “We just bought this big dredge machine… We bought a barge as well… We’re spending $2.5 million U.S. dollars to build out Blue Ocean as easily the largest dredging company in the Caribbean.”

He said the dredge, valued at about US $1.2 million, and the barge, costing roughly US $1.3 million, are scheduled to arrive within four weeks. Once operational, the equipment will enable the government to carry out its own harbour and reclamation projects rather than depending on private overseas firms.

Mr Browne described the investment as part of a wider plan to strengthen self-sufficiency in critical sectors such as construction, port management, and coastal defence. By acquiring heavy equipment outright, he said, Antigua and Barbuda can save millions in service contracts while generating income from regional work.

The Blue Ocean venture complements other government-owned enterprises being developed in construction and materials production, including a new concrete and block plant and a modern port crane. Together, the projects form part of the administration’s long-term strategy to expand public-sector capacity and retain more of the economic value created by infrastructure development.

Mr Browne said the government’s focus is on practical, revenue-generating assets that also reduce costs to the taxpayer. “We’re building the capacity of the state,” he said. “When the state owns its own equipment, we keep the value here in Antigua and Barbuda.”

The new dredging equipment is expected to support future port expansion, coastal protection, and marine restoration works, positioning the twin-island state as a regional leader in maritime engineering.