Dominica: Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit visited the construction site of the International Airport. There he inspected all the areas and took an overview of all necessary facilities that are being built.
While supervising the International Airport construction site, PM Skerrit said that there are many essential facilities that are being built in this airport such as the tunnel which is expected to be completed by October 2026 and will connect Wesley to Woodford Hill in Portsmouth.
He stated that the terminal building is also under construction, including the FBO as a private VIP space for private aircrafts. The fire services and all other necessary facilities are also under construction. The last quarter of the International Airport construction is anticipated to be completed by the year 2027.
PM Skerrit expressed that this is a major achievement for Dominica and the airport will bring positive transformation to the country. He added that the direct flights from Newark, New Jersey and Miami with Contour Airlines and Caribbean Airlines has been facilitated to improve access to Dominica.
Due to this they have seen increase in stayover visitors in Dominica. Dr. Skerrit said that this airport is going to be crucial towards growing economy and bringing more foreign exchanges in the country by creating jobs for people, creating opportunities for farmers, taxi operators and for those who own car rental companies.
Building the International Airport has always been the foremost priority of every government of Dominica whether before or after the independence. They have faced many challenges in building this airport, especially landing flights at night in Dominica.
Dominica Labour Party (DLP), has spent a significant amount of capital to develop this and resolve this at Douglas Charles Airport. Constructing the terminal building, new runway and extending the runway are all the facilities that are associated with it.
Prime Minister Skerrit also explained that after Hurricane Erika and the damage caused by it, the DLP government has invested $200 million to repair the Douglas Charles Airport. He said that no bank was ready to give them money, no World Bank or no Caribbean Development Bank or any other bank was ready to give funds to rebuild the airport, except the Chinese bank and that too because of the bilateral relations.
Then the only route they were left with to build the airport was asking for grant from other friendly government. So, then they decided to use the Citizenship by Investment as a source of funding for this airport project. He believes that without CBI it was not possible.
Dr. Skerrit is proud that their government has always been determined to build this airport, and the Dominica Labour Party administration was able to define this strategy and the plan going forward for not only the construction purpose but crucially for financing the airport.
He affirmed that no generation whether current or future will be burdened by any loan on the completion of this airport
Furthermore, PM Skerrit said that DLP has built Dominica in many sectors whether it is education, health, infrastructure, agriculture or about creating small business opportunities, giving grants to young entrepreneurs, housing projects, schools also considering structural adjustments with the IMF.
Since being in rule, they have tackled several challenges and had never had a moment to rest. He concluded with a positive note that they can’t distract themselves from growing due to negativity spread by opposition.
They have jobs to do; they have to transform lives of people in Dominica. They have to create opportunities for their citizens, and they are working on so many projects to provide facilities to their people.