PM Roosevelt Skerrit has indicated that the completion of the proposed international airport is paramount to his administration, and that it may constitute one of his partying gifts to the country. Political analysts said the assurance indicates that the prime minister may not seek reelection after his current tenure expires.
He said the construction of the international airport with the aid of Chinese experts would have reached an advanced stage if not for the coronavirus pandemic that necessitated border closures and business lockdown in most countries of the world. He said however that local contractors continued to work on the airport despite the COVID-19 restrictions.
“Our country will see an international airport,” he said. “We have not stopped working. During the covid period, we continued to work on this airport. I assure you that this will be one of my parting gifts for this country. I am absolutely committed to this airport.”
Apart from the sustained promise to deliver a functional international airport to Dominicans in record time, the prime minister also vowed to deliver a cruise port. He maintained that work is ongoing on the port even though coronavirus-related travel restrictions have hampered marine experts from conducting required geological tests for the project. He said this will be expedited when all borders reopen.
“Once we have opened up the borders, we will have more advancements made with respect to these projects,” China’s Ambassador to Dominica Lu Kun said. “We are committed to these projects; they are critical to us and we have to continue to work diligently to make them happen.”
Meanwhile, PM Skerrit has expressed suppor t for the new arrangement reached by major LIAT stakeholders to reinvent the airline. He agreed with the reorganization proposal made by PM Gaston Brown of Antigua and Barbuda, adding it only needs to be polished up to be effective.
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