The governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, has supported using grants to fund the construction of an international airport in the country. He said Dominica is a major player in the regional tourism sector and requires an international airport to boost its tourism potentials within and outside the island.
According to the ECCB governor, “Dominica needs an international airport” simply because no country can be a major player in the tourism industry on a regional level without having a big airport of international standards. He said the world is now driven by technology, and it is only relevant technology that can make any country truly global in the right sense of the word.
Antoine said constructing an international airport requires huge capital, and cited the example of St. Vincent and the Grenadines which spent a minimum $700 million to construct its airport. He said it is best for Dominica to operate its own major airport and not collaborate with other islands since that would not be helpful to the country’s tourism potentials.
“There are people who say why don’t we just share ports and the islands collaborate,” he said. “It doesn’t work like that in tourism. I think the airport is necessary and if you are in tourism, and we all are, you need direct access.”
He emphasized that the airport must be constructed even though it will require grants to fund it.
This article is copyright © 2020 DOM767
