The construction of an international airport may soon become a reality in the Wesley area of Dominica. This was stated by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit who revealed that a team of US consultants may visit Wesley in August to discuss with residents over the project. Skerrit together with cabinet members visited the region to share this good news with residents. Fidel Grant, the DLP candidate for the Wesley Constituency, was also in attendance.
In pursuit of this airport project, a local committee was set up to plan and oversee the idea. Skerrit revealed that he also consulted with a self-appointed committee of property owners whom the construction of the proposed airport might affect. He stated that his administration is extra careful when it comes to land acquisition, and with this, no one’s property will be used without adequate compensation.
I always understand that the acquisition of people’s private property is a very sensitive matter, and this is why we’re being very careful with how we approach the acquisition of properties across Dominica.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit
The prime minister said every member of the Wesley community and the property committee will be carried along as discussions and execution of the project commence.
In a related development, Skerrit has promised farmers in Wesley that their dilapidated farm roads will be fixed in earnest. This relief is coming 19 years after his administration has been in power. The prime minister stated that large quantities of cement have been purchased for the repairs, and three concrete mixing trucks will be fully assigned to the task. He said one of the trucks will be stationed in the Wesley constituency to facilitate the construction.
The prime minister said the constructed of the roads were to be financed by the European Union. But some legal problems arose and these stalled the financing of the project.
“And so we had to wait whether there would be a resolution to that problem,” he said. “Up till today, there has not been a resolution. And so the cabinet said to the European Union ‘we are not going to wait any longer, because the farmers are suffering, and the farmers need the roads fixed…and fixed immediately’. And so we will be taking over these roads and fixing the roads ourselves.”
As soon as the repair of the farm roads in Wesley is underway, Skerrit said his administration will turn its attention on the housing situation in the Woodford Hill area.
“And so what we’re gonna seek to do is buy some lands so we can build some resilient homes to address the housing challenges; especially since a number of young people need a home for themselves and their children under comfortable and sanitary conditions in Woodford Hill,” he confirmed.
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