Dominica Signs Agreement To Begin Construction On Highly Anticipated International Airport
A monumental signing for the Commonwealth of Dominica's international airport took place at Windsor Park Stadium on Wednesday. The agreement saw the Government of Dominica and Montreal Management Consultants (MMCE) move one step closer to the development and construction of the airport. The project - funded entirely by the country's Citizenship by Investment Programme - is set to be completed by 2025.
The new airport, and the years taken to construct it, will be life-changing for Dominica and its citizens, providing both job creation and an expected spike in tourism across the island once completed. Visitors from around the world will now have even easier access to truly experience the island known as the Caribbean's best-kept secret.
Dominica's natural beauty, welcoming community, and its exceptional handling of the Covid-19 pandemic have already made it a popular tourist destination particularly for visitors from the United States and Europe. Once the new airport is completed, it will allow even more tourists to truly discover Dominica.
The international airport will enable Dominica to further diversify its economy by becoming a more central hub for business purposes and trade. Locally, those in the farming and fisheries sectors will greatly benefit, as exporting to the United States and other countries across the globe will become a viable option.
"We need this airport to achieve the economic diversification which we have been speaking about for many decades. We need the international airport if we are to position ourselves with the rest of the region and the world by extension," stated Minister for Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture, and National Food Security, Fidel Grant.
Dominica is committed to becoming climate-resilient with a ban on plastic already in place and a thriving eco-tourism sector that has already seen construction of luxury resorts from renowned hoteliers like Kempinski, Marriott and Hilton. With a geo-thermal plant set to be completed next year and numerous natural beauty spots such as boiling lake, the island prioritises the wellness of both its environment and its people. The international airport will only further assist in allowing others to benefit from the island.
"After today, the airport will begin to rise out of the ground, then from the ground to the air. And I give you this solemn assurance that planes will land here direct from Europe and the United States of America in 2025," said Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
The airport is fully funded by Dominica's Citizenship by Investment Programme, which has, since 1993, been pivotal to the country's national development. From healthcare to tourism to aviation, investments generated under the Programme have made a positive impact to almost all sectors of Dominican society. For nearly three decades, CBI has welcomed foreign investors and their families to become citizens of the country once making an economic contribution through either the Economic Diversification Fund or through the purchase of real estate. The real estate arm offers investors the chance to buy into eco-luxury properties from either top tier hotel giants to unique boutique resorts like Secret Bay or Jungle Bay.
The signing of the agreement to begin construction on Dominica's international airport is a historical moment for an island that has made significant strides in rebuilding itself since the devastation felt by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The boost to tourism, the economy and the morale of the Dominican people will allow the island to opens its doors even wider to the rest of the world.