Antigua broke ground yesterday on a new airport terminal at the country’s VC Bird International Airport, a project that will begin construction next month and be completed by December 2013.
The project will be handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, with 30 percent of the overall investment funneled into the local economy through the employment of local contractors and other services.
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The lack of an international airport and modern aviation facilities in Dominica is akin to a gilted lover.
Each time you listen to a particular song, or go out to a certain place, you’re forced to recall the time that you spent together all over again and now she’s gone.
Seeing Antigua’s rendition of their terminal building and St Vincent’s just rehashes old wounds for me.
I lived in St. Kitts for four years. Here’s the facts: They built capacity through hotels, casinos and other ventures that brought tourist to St. Kitts.
The majority of visitors who vacation in St. Kitts do so via private jets and charter flights, not LIAT or American Airlines.
After first building capacity, the Canadian Government granted them a loan to expand the runway and construct a new state of the art terminal builing.
They also reclaimed some 30 acres of land in the capital and used that space to construct a tourism village of sorts.
Dominica needs to follow the same path. If we do not have the capacity, we will never be able to convince funders to guarantee a loan.
Banks and funding agencies do not function on emotions like some of us do. They are only concerned with one question: How will our monies loaned, be repaid? That’s it.
If we can’t convince them that we are capable of repayinng monies borrowed, then they will not be loaned in the first place.
Our tourism product is stale and it needs to be enhanced to attract more stay-over tourist. We do not have fun-activities to attract the type of tourist who stay over for a week or more.
I love my country and I have visited most of the Caribbean islands.Dominica is the most boring by far. There’s nothing fun to do on the island. Where’s the movie theatre?
Furthermore, the hotels and flights are over priced with poor service. Direct flight from JFK to Jamaica:US$300.00 per person with taxes and fees. I flew there for US$290.00.
Flying from JFK to Dominica:US$800.00 including taxes and fees. Total for a family of four flying to Jamaica: US$1200.00. Flying to Dominica:US$2400.00.
There are no all-inclusive hotels in Dominica where meals, hotels and flights are packaged for budget conscious travelers. As a result, we are not competitive and terribly overpriced when compared to our sister islands.
For all the hoopla about “Nature-Tourism” it’s niche market tourism. We can thank Athie Martin for this wrong-headed approach.
We need to attract Brand Name establishments that are recognizable internationally. A Margaritaville would be a good start.
Your vision sounds appalling.
All inclusive NEVER benefits the society that is based in. They are either owned by local fat cats or by international chains and bring their food in themselves and only they get to give the tours and recreations. Result … nothing for the locals.
St Kitts has a wonderful tourism minister.
Nature activities and diving are a niche market I agree. But is is something we do way better than any other island. Actually … we only have Costa Rica and Hawaii as competition. That market is huge … Dominica should be looking at Costa Rica and seeing what they did right. They had all the same problems and wonderful landscape.
That ‘niche’ is worth millions to us. If we keep the hotels small scale (under 75 rooms) we will attract the right people.
Tourists are not the same … some want different things (thank God) … these come here and spend EVERYTHING they have in local shops and bars/restaurants and with local taxi drivers and tour guides.
Compare that with the all inclusive … they would NOT like our wonderful island because it has no white sand, no casino and no malls.
I have seen them get off the cruise ship. many are US citizens born in Central America. They don’t want what we have … they are already from ‘here’ they want St Martin.
So shall we start again from scratch and maybe win with these guys … import white sand from Barbados mines, lend and spend a load of money on an international airport so that we have to dance like puppets for China?
Noh man.
You sell our beautiful island short.
Sell the world what we have to those that want it. Start with the French islands and work our way out.
I saw that discover Dominica will be in the UK … what a waste of our money … I have not seen a tourist from the UK in years … they have no pot to pee in. they are bust.
Go to Martinique and Guadeloupe and get some advertising there and see those ferries fill up.
WHEN LIAT CANCEL A FLIGHTU CANT EVEN GET A HOTEL IN MARIGOT I EXPIRENCE THAT AND ITS VERY STRESS FULL TO DRIVE BACK TO TOWN.
All the talk not going to get us anywhere,action that is the ansewer.We all are entile to our opinon,but we must look at our actions.every political party that comes to power spend most of their time braking down what the previous government started.(to be straight foward)It shuold be mandatory for succeeding government to continue viable projects started by the previous government.I don’t have to name them you all know them, we are our own worst enemy to Dominica’s progress.When we can have RESPECT for one another and love for Dominica, then we will enjoy progress like these other countries are enjoying,otherwise we will forever be caught up in this debate of hate,meanwile our life is sleeping away.
We have to see the whole airport issue as Chicken and egg. If you don’t build they don’t come. If they don’t come you cannot build.
many flights are still less than full. Why do we need more flights? I know that we all WANT more flights but why would anyone invest hard earned money to see no return.
Dominica is growing you know. I know with all this “Skerrit this and UWP that” that it seems like we are getting nowhere. But that simply is not true.
We are growing while the developing nations are folding.
With i’s natural resources, food a plenty and early tourism starting to flourish … Dominica is in a great place.
We have to walk not run. Many places in the Caribbean are seeing big slowdowns in their tourism. St Martin, Antigua and Barbados for example are having a torrid time with slashed prices at hotels and very small numbers arriving and those that make it spending less.
Meanwhile the quiet Goddess (yes us) is slowly but surely growing. When they arrive (as difficult as it is to arrive) the visitors love it. I think many here don’t understand how beautiful our own country really is … we see it too much and don’t see what these visitors see anymore.
Small scale independent tourism is the way forward … stick with it and it will work out.
It’s always said that unity is strength and strength is power, though i agree i have come to the conclusion that it’s not so for black people. I being black myself feel ashame that i have to conclude this way but i find we do better as a “one man show”. If you look at this seriously you will notice that once we black join to do anything it fails but does so well when is one alone doing it. Slavery may have affected us pretty bad because we follow the white man so very well. The only reason why Dominica and all other black controled countries doing badly is simply because not enough white or another race influence. Dominica’s problems is not Skerrit or labour nor was it UWP or any past government although i would agree that the odds are against us since we are black controlled country from the bigger white nations. I am not saying this here to bring us down but rather that we start thinking about this seriously so if at all we are to think of mooving forward atleast we would be mindful of the problem. As is said in other for you to change you must first accept that you have a problem.
Is someone trying to convince me that the UWP would/could do better than this government? No way.
The UWP has no desire to be in government or being in opposition, there are only three (3) developmental project they’re interested in for Dominicans.
1. Voters ID cards.
2. Democracy under threat, and
3. Skerrit corrupt.
With such a major developmental agenda who can doubt that these guys will build an international airport in many villages. They’re working and fine tuning their agenda since December 2009.
Great opposition for the future development of Dominicans. So let’s await their intl. Airport.
Your fool you cannot build an international airport in many villages. Your idiot voter ID card is not a development programme. NO wonder buffoons like you have Dominica in the state that it is today.You and idiots like you are the reason why we are whaere we are today.Your Sot.!
I respect everyone’s opinion. However, many of you are yet to comprehend the world we live in today.
We think of development as infrastucture. It is beyond that people. Since i was born i keep hearing the international airport dream for dominica. find. it is good to dream big.
However, over several dacades what have we done to increase the flight options and frequency to Dominica?
If we had for example 4 american eagle flights per day plus 10 or so liat flights what would our airport traffic be like?
We can’t even get more flights with local carries how on earth will we have international flights?
Dominica simply need increase flights. once we have the passenger arrival numbers then we can grow.
And for all those who critic the leaders. Please tell me what organization or team you currently leader or manage.
What i have noticed in my career is that the employees who set in the break room and oppose everything, when they are called upon to seat on a committee they always decline. But after the very next event (the one organized by a committee they refused to assist)they are back in the breakroom with nothing positive to say.
You have an opinion, but if you know it all and can do a way better job, then lead!!!!!!
Empty barrels makes the most noise.
You putting the cart before the horse. Airlines will come if we generate enough demand and not the other way round. You seriously believe that if we increase the number of flights passenger numbers will also increase? No commercial operator will come here on that basis. Who would pay for the empty seats in the mean time? Demand first, capacity second.
Well interst is not going to be generated cause who wants to pay out there ass to visit on vacation then end up loosing half their bags. Flying from the US to Dominica seems so far. I spoke to some of my co workers and they all got turned off by the thought of taking multiple planes. Right now if you go to aaa.com and put in a search you can’t get a flight in one day. That’s a huge turn off. Then you have to think of the long drive to the city. The excitement dies on the trip.
Man go and hide somewhere in a zoo, to say to us or imply to us that we do not need an international airport.STOP TALKING CRAP TO PEOPLE!
“Dominica simply need increase flights. once we have the passenger arrival numbers then we can grow.”
In the quote above I read some contradictions!
How are you going to get more tourrist arrivals into Dominica; if Dominica is not known as a tourrist destination to the rest of the world. When we talk tourism week in Dominica, we are only talking to our local, native Dominicans.
In spite of the carp you hear people such as Ian Douglas, and the rest speak of nature island, they fail to advertise Dominica in areas where it matters. I have traveled, the world, and I have never mentioned to anyone that I am from Dominica, or the Commonwealth of Dominica, and that name immediately, or instantly ring a bell to the people engaging in conversation with me..
The question is always ” where is that?”
So if people who wants to go on a vacation does not know our island exists, how can they select Dominica for a vacation. Sometimes word of mouth helps a lot, however when people visits and find that we lack class accommodation, because of the lack of hotels, does anyone believe that will encourage anyone to influence their friends to actually come to visit a country to deal with less than they are accustom to?
Our priority in Dominica at the moment should be to construct an International Airport, simultaneously with some hotels, and I am not talking about some four bedroom house, and call it a hotel.
Simultaneously, we need to advertise in Europe, and North America, that is where the bulk of the tourrist will come from, people invest money in order to make money. And to those people who are using what they hear is happening in the world to justify our backwardness I feel sorry for them.
St. Martin is in the Caribbean, and each year, they see more than 1.8 million tourist arriving on that island, even since the down turn in the worlds economy in 2008 to now.
And as for the person who babbled about Antigua was long overdue for a New Terminal, I say to that person, between 1962, and now the Antiguan’s have either redeveloped their terminal, or completely build new ones, however, never to this magnitude. So that tells me if they had not seen an increase in activities, at the airport, in both arrivals, and departures they would not be investing so much in a more modern terminal at this point.
However, in order to maintain the status quo in our country, all sorts of wolfs in sheep clothing will come out here and write all sort of sweet sounding nonsense to justify our backwardness!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
first they said we dont need an inter.airport,they even brought the PM of SVG to tell us that we dont need one!! As soon as the SVG PM left D/cawhat did he do? Build his inter. airport. Money that was spent at M/hall was a waste of funds. The UWP bought the land for the airport,papa Hugo did the earth movement 4 free. Why couldnt that be done on the area that was selected for the airport by the UWP. Look at the St.Kitts inter.airport it is not a big one as VCB inter airport or the GA inter.airport. why couldnt they do like ST.Kitts n leave the space for further improvement. Melvillehall is just a waste of funds.We must think country first
Good for Antigua but just another reason to lament about the total waste and shameful melleville hall air port project.the largest and most natural resource loaded island in the oecs continues to fall way behind while the other islands are running lapse around Dominica. Next level? I get angry every time I think of what could have been had it not been for the corrupt politicians.
At least Antigua got 30% re-injection.
In the mentime we need to work with what we have. Melvile hall airport needs to be much busier say flights landing every half hour. Our infrastructure needs to expand . Intenational flights bring in large numbers of visitors and we need more hotel rooms , better roads and transport, entertainment among other things.
come on guys with some of your comments,the antigua government could not build the terminal,after countless years,it is the chinese funding that is building it,why lash out at our government,are we richer than antigua financially,i do not think so,and yet still they could have done it,antigua airport has been building up piece by piece for years,every time you pass through antigua they building something,it is because that is how people that do not have money does build,so i do not see how we judging skerrit them,i want to know if dominica have a gold mine somewhere that i do not no about.
Everytime another island breaks ground about a new project, dominicans are quick to shower them with praises but when Skerrit breaks ground about a new project in dominica – OOOHH, money wasted, negative vibes, de country poorer, people are suffering, and so on. What is wrong with you stupid Dominicans? Are you all sick or what? That’s why Skerrit building the state college to educate you fools and ignoramuses.
this is so true
Antigua is overdue for a new terminal and terms for its financing were well negotiated with 30% of the loan being interest free plus 30% of the cost going back into the local economy. The operative word is “negotiated”, which must reflect on the performance of mr. Skerrit because for all we know it was he personally, who concluded our loan commitment with the Chinese bank, which is subject to a 2% interest charge for the entire loan amount.Please, correct me if am wrong but I’ve not heard overt critcism of the esxpansion of the college, social housing or hospital that also fall under this loan agreement. However, whereas Antigua is happy, and proud to coninue using their Government House, a colonial Britsh relic no less, our leader decided to build a brand new “State Palace”, which is of no apparent commercial or social benefit and it is this, that is the focus of public critcism. mr. Skerrit often laments that he can not do everything himself, and he is right, yet, paradoxically he continues to do exactly that.There are enough skilled and experienced Dominicans that would be happy to lessen his burden if only he cared to delegate more.
I love to oppose..it gives me talking points to see how things can be done differnetly.
It always takes a stupid person to call one stupid, because they know exactly what stupidity is.
BIG A————SS U SINGING FOR A FAVOUR WHAT U WANT SOME ZINC FOR UR OLD HOUSE BY THE ROAD. ANTIGUA GET 30% EMPLOYMENT OF THIS PROJECT, HOW MUCH WE GET FROM THE STATE HOUSE OR THE ROAD PROJECT? ALTHOUGH I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE ROAD I LOVE IT IT SWEET. BUT WE NEED MORE LOCAL CONTRACTOR INVOLVE IN THOSE PROJECT.AND ONE THING FOR THE FOUR YEARS WORKER DID ALOT I WISH IF IT WAS THEM THAT DID GET ALL THOSE CHANCE LABOUR GET DA WOULD HAVE BEING FIRTHER. THEY DID SO MISTAKE TO LIKE SELLING DOMLIC AND PASSPORT MAKING US HAVE TROUBLE TO GO CANADA BUT PROJET WISE THEY DID MORE THAN DLP.
Now if China could only fix LIAT too while they’re in Antigua.
They offered LIAT some prop-planes similar to what they already have but LIAT turned it down and rightfully so. The planes equipment were all analog (non electronic) and that would have required retraining of the pilots, in essence putting them backwards. Further, these airplanes are crash prone and are not very popular outside of Asia. Finny thing is China is buying foreign airplanes but trying to have others buy the “Made in China” ones. Imagine that!
I am in total agreement with the you, GOM.
“It is standard stipulation of 100 percent of Chinese participation in all loan and grant projects done by China,” Shoul said. “However, we ensured that 30 percent of the project spending stays in Antigua .”
Way to go China…just laod up the Caribean with your workers.
If this was Dominica, the uwp little people would be all over Skerrit.
Some times before you open your mouth and just let stupid partisan ignorance and face reality if you had even 30% of locals working on the state house then you could attempt to say something but you don’t even have 15% of locals working but cannot or will not say anything to DLP but your quick to have a say at UWP for what,speaking the truth. Come on its time to grow up.
Ya, but zero stayed in Dominica, 100% was china man, all went back to China, so what point are you trying to make?
I wish Melville Hall could look like that one day.
If we didn’t have these corrupt guys managing our affairs, that’s what we would have…Our leaders are concerned only with their pockets..TO HELL WITH EVERYTHING ELSE! WHAT A FAILED COUNTRY.!
MR.JIM WHAT CORRUPT GUYS WHAT U TRYING TO SAY UWP COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB TO BUILD THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIKE HE PROMISE TO BUILD IN NO TIME BUT YET STILL COULD NOT EVEN SHOW THERE OWN PORTFOLIO. YOU GUYS THAT IS CORRUPT GET IT IN YOUR TINY BRAIN DOMINICA CAN DO NOT EVEN HAVE PLACE TO PUT PPL UP TO STAY FOR A LIL CREOLE FESTIVAL WERE ARE WE GOING TO PUT PPL AND THERE IS NO HOTELS UNDER YOUR MOTHER BED THINK BEFORE YOU TALK DO NOT LET THE DONKEY THINK FOR YOU
That would be good in an ideal world. But we would need to process a lot more people before we even think of getting a larger terminal building.
It’s almost like having a 20 bedroom house for you and your spouse. It’s all well if you can afford it, but if you are on a budget, it would not be the wisest expenditure of your precious funds.
WoW well said
And how are you going to get the people to process if you don’t have the terminal building to process them. It’s like saying, how can you get a job with no experience; and how can you get experience without a job. One has to preceed the other. In today’s world, we will never get the people without the airport. We need to position our selves first and then take advantage of any oppotunity that knock.
I have to shake ur big toe…thank you for that analysis. I have been making a similar argument, not in these words but similar, for the longest time – and i get verbally assaulted as a result. It is indeed refreshing to see that i am not the only one who looks at these kinds of projects, delve into the details of costs vis-a-vis return on investment, and eventually come up with a layman’s perspective as to whether its a viable project at the time of consideration…
I do not wish to be like a barking dog, chasing after the tyer’s of moving vehicles every time I read something which makes no sense, nonetheless, it boggles my mind when I read the crap that some people who are ignorant of the fact; yet they talk without realizing how foolish their comments they make.
In the natural to be able to have lots of people to process in an Terminal, you first need to have the facility, or means to bring them in: The population of Dominica is less than sixty thousand people; therefore Dominica’s traveling population will forever be limited, unless everybody residing on the Island gets up and leave on the same day!
We cannot consider an Terminal within such magnitude, unless we have an International Airport to go along with it, the bottom line is simple:
We need an International Airport in the country!
While we leap off the ground into space at election time shouting our Blue, and Red slogans in support of our political party of choice, after the election is over and we are back on the ground we need something to generate revenue in the country, by the time we strip the Blue & Red colors off our bodies, and get tired of the slogans, we cannot live money, there must be a source of income. Slogans and colors does not produce money.
Production in industries, even the tourrist industry produces money, how can we talk tourism in Dominica, when we are reluctant to invest into an International Airport when that actually should be a priority pertaining to the tourrist Industry?
The refusal, or reluctance to invest in such a project seems like madness to me!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
We need a new airport, new location
WHO EVER COULD HAVE DONE BETTER INSTEAD OF
THIS DEATH TRAP IN CANE FIELD.
if u want to see it vote out the current government
so what happen to those governments since after 1979?so so damn stupid and all them bull talk…
Melville Hall will never look like that, because we Dominicans, ” doh ” want any International Airport, because ” Antigua have one already.” How many times have you heard that song in Dominica, how many times have you heard Barbados have one already; or we ” doh have the money to pay for it.”
Such are the sentiments of our people where it pertains to development in our country.
We admire what the other islands around us possesses, nonetheless, each time anything productive is proposed in Dominica, you people play politics with it, talking crap such as we doh want it!
When the UWP, broke grown on an International Airport , Lester Bird chartered how many aircrafts from Antigua, to take Dominicans home to vote against progress in their home country Dominica, in reality he sent them home to vote against themselves.
They went home and voted for the coalition goverment, headed by the Late Rosie Douglas, and the master mind Athie Martin, who closed down the International Airport which was in it first phase of development.
We may all remember that we were assisted by the Government of Trinidad & Tobago, there were people from Trinidad already working on the project. The Secondary School in Wesley was part of that project.
I remember Ian Douglas, said the UWP was spending too much money on the development of the new airport, and that they could get one built for a fraction of what the UWP was about to spend, he continued that what we need was some soft loan to build the International Airport at the time; what is his definition of a soft loan, that is know only to him, and only Ian Douglas seems to know where his soft loans exists.
So, the coalition accepted advised Bertrand advised, agreed that Dominica, has no need for an International Airport, all we need to do is refurbished Melville Hall Airport, and that will suite our purpose.
Again, Gonzales of St. Vincent advised our government that Dominica does not need an International Airport, nonetheless, all that Melville Airport needed was refurbishing, and he gave our people that advise while he was negotiating to have an international airport built in St. Vincent!
St. Vincent is about to experience their first international flight in the near future; the International Airport now under construction on the island of St. Vincent will soon be in operation. We can admire what our neighbors have for the rest of our nations life, and we will never get what they have unless we make an effort to make some serious progress in our country.
Our country remains as a place where time has passed us by, and that is why we dubbed our country the Nature island of the World.
I think by now it would be appropriate to rename Dominica the: The Primitive island of the world, because in reality, that is the definition of Nature island.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
Well said…
When we raise our standards and ambitions then we can have some good development in our island. We are plagued by a mediocre syndrome, we always satisfied with being the least, being poor or being backward. Then we go other islands and enjoy the fruits of their progressive way of thinking and then boast how nice and developed this islands are.
In dominica there is always an excuse why we cant do this and that. We need to change the way we think….
The negotiating skills of upright,levelheaded future oriented government leaders in Antigua..In Dominica millions was wasted at Melvillehall by corrupt and inept leadership boys.NO WONDER WE SUCH A POOR COUNTRY under these crooked and lazy gang of leaders.
WE WAS ALWAYS POOR FROM TIME EVEN UNDER ENGLAND WE WAS POOR. BOY I MISS THE IRON LADY CAUSE SKERIT NICE SHE WOULD OF SHUT YOU GUYS DOWN LONG TIME SO SKERIT HAVE DOMINICA POOR WELL LOOK IT YOU IS A DAM …
JUST LIKE YOU. IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE.