CEO of International Airport Development Company Samuel Johnson disclosed that as soon as the equipment from China arrived last June, construction on facilities such as cement mixing and lab testing have been in the works.

“So today, the work is happening in [terms of] finalizing the batch plant site. You have concrete and asphalt batching, and..concrete mixing, and then they’ll be tested in a lab by the developer,” Johnson said.

A fuel pump is also set up at the site for the convenient availability of fuel for machinery and other vehicles essential to the construction of the airport. Johnson also said the contractor is currently going through some revisions with the airport’s design.

“So a lot of the movement you’re seeing right now is just getting ready…Dominica has no flat land, although this looks relatively flat when you come closer, you can see the valleys and the hills that all would have to be leveled to create that airport set,” Johnson added.

Dominica’s international airport is one of the defining projects of the Skerrit government, with an estimated budget of EC$ 1 billion. So far, the government has expended EC$ 40 million to prepare the site for construction. Some 500 acres of land were acquired, resulting in the relocation of 260 property owners. As for the remainder of the funds, Prime Minister Skerrit says the nation’s Citizenship By Investment Programme will be used.

“It is the developer who has to use our CBI programme to raise the finances for the construction of the airport,” Prime Minister Skerrit explained, adding that there is no financial liability on the people of Dominica. “As it is, the developer is the one who would assign the contract with the contractor to build the international airport.”

 

MMC Development Ltd. has been a longstanding partner of the government of Dominica in terms of building climate-resilient houses and other essential infrastructure.