Penn flags $80M airport project under Works Ministry

Opposition Leader Marlon Penn has questioned the decision to place a proposed $80 million airport runway project under the Ministry of Communications and Works, arguing that the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) should manage the undertaking.

Penn, during a recent appearance on the Talking Points radio programme, said the ministry lacked the capacity to oversee a project of that size. “This project should be done through the RDA,” Penn argued.

The proposed works are part of the government’s wider plan to extend the runway at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport to approximately 7,000 feet. The BVI Airports Authority invited proposals for an initial 787-foot western extension, with the government describing that phase as an interim measure while it seeks United Kingdom approval for the larger project.

Penn maintained his opposition to what he described as a piecemeal approach to the airport’s development but said the government had the authority to proceed with its chosen plan.

“I disagree with a piecemeal approach to fixing the runway at Terrance B Lettsome International Airport. We need a more comprehensive approach to doing the way we do infrastructural projects,” Penn stated.

Works ministry doesn’t have the capacity

He said that if the government continued with the project, it should assign its management to an entity equipped to handle major developments.

“The ministry doesn’t have the capacity to run a project of this size. It’s proven. Look at Hodges Creek,” Penn stated.

Penn pointed to the Hodges Creek road project, which he said had increased from just under $2 million to more than $3 million and remained incomplete.

“It’s nowhere close to completion. They still have all those dangerous side areas of the road,” he said. “There were over a million dollars already with change requests and change orders and just overruns.”

He questioned how the ministry would manage the airport undertaking under the same arrangement. “Can you imagine what’s going to happen with an airport project under the same level of management and leadership? And a project that is projected to be close to $80 million?” Penn asked.

Penn said the government created the RDA as an independent development body to manage major projects. He cited the Elmore Stoutt High School redevelopment and road projects at Fish Bay and along the Ridge Road among work executed through the agency.

“Most of the projects were done within budget. There weren’t any significant overruns; they were properly managed, properly executed,” Penn stated.

He said the government should provide the agency with the resources and major projects needed to continue that work.