Visioning meeting held for airport expansion stakeholders
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has underscored the importance of expanding the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport, as a team of government officials and other stakeholders met for a visioning exercise late last week.
The visioning meeting was held with a diverse group of industry partners from a cross-section of the public service and the private sector as well as the tourism and hospitality industry.
The government said persons gathered to share ideas and discuss the potential expansion of the airport and also to ensure the airport expansion can be executed in a way that takes into account as many factors as possible.
“When we look to the expansion of our economy, we have to look towards tourism, and certainly, this government. Whenever I have the opportunity, I speak to the fact that we have to develop tourism and invest more in tourism,” the Premier said.
Dr Wheatley warned that persons cannot take a passive approach to the airport’s development and expect visitors to come. “We have to put ourselves in the best possible position for our economy to grow and to develop. One of the major things that our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will thank us for is expanding this runway,” he added.
Meanwhile, Works Minister Kye Rymer said his ministry is well underway in contacting the relevant authorities that will be crucial in the expansion of the airport.
Rymer said after being given the mandate of extending the runway publicly, he thought it was important that there was dialogue to engage stakeholders on how to move forward with the airport expansion.
He noted that the Attorney General’s chambers has already been engaged, along with other stakeholders, in moving the project forward.
“But it’s time for us to get to the wider populace so that we can further these discussions,” Rymer said.
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Guide dogs for the blind
KYE IS GOING TO WASTE A SET AH MONEY LIKE WHA KEDRICK DID ON THIS SAME PROJECT…FRASER WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DID A BIT OF LENGTHENING A FEW YEARS AGO
This will turn into a theftfest. I can’t believe it will be allowed when there are so many other bits of infrastructure to fix like sewerage and power generation; and before the CoI reccomendations are implemented.
Also, without a loan guarantee from the UK no one will lend to finance a project on this scale. That means the only available source of income will be the Social Security fund. Who fancies having their pension fund spent on an airport project managed by the BVI Government? I thought not.
We have to remember that the BVI Government has taken in billions of dollars of revenue since the 1980s and what have we got for it? Look around.
When the old airstrip on Beef Island was first extended many years ago to what eventually became its current state, it was done by “Sappers,” the British Corps of Royal Engineers. And we all see in the news how rapidly and efficiently the military can build airstrips. Perhaps the BVI Government can once again obtain Britain’s assistance in executing this project fairly quickly and at reasonable cost via deployment of the Royal Engineers.
pursuing this useless dream. The inferiorstructure repairs and improvements are much more important now.
It’s time for the UK to step in and put these boys and girls to rest they are taking us down a path of no return and they are getting away with it, if the UK won’t stop them we will have to march them out of the house.
Great idea, Our Government could certainly benefit for more of this kind of sagacious advice.
We BVI people are like simple dogs chasing a smell!
“Money! Money! Money!”
No talk of what is appropriate for our sustained health wealth and happiness. No acknowledgement of the limits we naturally have due to our size, and almost ZERO respect for our natural environment. Not only does it bring tourists to these islands (the main attraction = UNTOUCHED nature), but it is essential for us to live by, even though we import all our food, which makes us think we have no connection. Corals, reefs, sea grass beds, mangroves – all of these create life which creates the air we breathe, creates the networks that allow humans and other species to live.
BVI people laugh at this type of fact because in our damaged minds, Money and God matter more than Nature. We are traumatized by centuries of scarcity, abuse and enforced ignorance.
Now we imagine success to be some kind of Miami version of the BVI. So we want a bigger airport, which means we need more hotels, which means more concrete, more damage to nature and more sewage and dead reefs and garbage and, in the end, more Prospect Reefs – false idols to money that shine like gold for a brief moment and always become broken ruins covered in bush and full of toxic trash.
All you say you love the BVI. You don’t. You love the golden calf called Money. Nature is bigger than both. Put it at the center of all our development and we will begin to be wise, understand real wealth and our great grandchildren and all future generations will be grateful.
One on here every week advocating for the take over by the imperialist and to re-colonialize the already colonialize Virgin Islands. Frankly, it is quite sickening to the point of making one puke upon reading such putrid anti-Black, anti local comments.
That colonialist obviously has zero regards for the people of this territory that have spent centuries on these lands…
However, what the individual is not mentioning is the UK authorizing and bringing payments due for hundreds of years of work done, service rendered and riches created for some, and unspoken human brutality, poverty and discrimination for the creators of such.
Until such is done, no one should be thinking of or writing or talking about UK take over. That is mere hideous racist chatter.
Yes indeed, the time for paying up has arrived. Pay they must. They will never begin to ease their conscience or stop feeling fear of us until they pay their debt to us.
Indeed, they have forgotten or pretend not to care what their ancestors have done to our ancestors? We have not!
They need to grow a conscience, soul and heart and do what is right by the people.
We know the knowledge of our history as we confidently and courageously march forward into our future. We will never again be colonialized and be humble and none assertive because of it.
(B)VI people are humans to. It is time for them to step and become purveyors of their own destiny…
Last, they have live on these islnds for centuries. Hence, they belong to them.
Only the chinese can do this project successfully..Start negotiating with them. You may have to make some serious sacrifices. I remember in the Bahamas when the Government gave the Chinese that Major Hotel and Airport to do the Bahamian were kicking up and bi**hing complaining, now those two projects have the highest employment in the Bahamas. Their people are now working and enjoying a good life from the same projects and people they once curse…So, BVI, Govt do what you need to do. The said people that cursing you now just like the Bahamas, Will praise you later..
errr, no thanks.
The Embraer E190. now being used by American Airlines on the MIA to EIS route, can hold 100 passengers and the airport’s current runway length of 4,642 feet is adequate for that airplane. How many flights per day of jets with a larger capacity are really needed? By way of example, the Boeing 737 MAX can carry 160-190, but so what? And in December of 2021, there was talk of expanding to accomoodat an Airbus A320 for 165 million dollars, and a recent headline was to the effect that the ECB was going to finance 65 million dollars towards the expansion.
Does the BVI really need to spend millions of dollars so that jets with 60 to 80 more seats than the Embraer can land in Tortola? It’s ridiculous to spend that kind of money when all that’s needed is to add another flight or two per day.
The royal engineers did not do this current airport. Get your facts straight. The Royal Engineers did the airport in the 60’s.
The E175 is what is being operated 70 seats. Soooo Airbus A320 (180 pax almost three times the 175), a 737-700 (149 pax twice as much the 175). Less trips, double to triple the passengers= less wear and tear, lower liability and cheaper air fares.
We need a “visioning meeting” on the new DDM building.
Largest contract at +$9m signed by the last AF VIP government. Years on still not finished, no updates nothing. Project seems to be at a standstill and yet not a word from government. Now they talking about West End Ferry Terminal and Airport Expansion. Cant get the Admin building finished.
Who is responsible for this project?