Gonsalves: Building Int’l airport is fulfilling Sir James vision

The building of the international airport at Argyle is a fulfillment of former Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell’s vision, not as he envisioned it – but a fulfillment never-the-less.{{more}}

This is according to Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who made that submission at a press conference last Tuesday.

Dr Gonsalves was at the time suggesting that based on page 426 of Sir James’ 2006 autobiography, “Beyond the Islands”, Sir James was disappointed that Eustace didn’t push through with plans to develop a Jet Port at ET Joshua, a decision that Sir James considered to be unwise.

“I had assumed that my successor would be wise enough to value our legacy and deploy our experiences towards new triumphs. Instead I could see my vision of a jetport in St Vincent vanishing , our direct linkage to Caracas and Miami receding like a mirage in a desolate landscape, and the ship of state drifting inexorably, only to founder in the turbulence of the Taiwan Strait,” Dr Gonsalves quoted Sir James as saying in the book.

According to Dr Gonsalves, the Jet Port at Canouan and the International Airport at Argyle will bring the desired linkage to Caracas and Miami.

He again explained that the proposed expansion of the ET Joshua airport wasn’t financially or technically feasible and said that his government’s decision to pursue the international airport at Argyle remains the right one.

He also sought to explain some controversy that has surfaced concerning funds that were originally sourced by the NDP administration from Taiwan for the then proposed expansion of ET Joshua.

He insisted that that money did not form part of the money given and loaned by Taiwan for the Argyle project.

The sequence of events as Dr Gonsalves explained is that Sir James had been promised US$20 million from Taiwan for the development of a Jetport at Arnos Vale.

He said that once the decision to build at Argyle was made, he asked the Taiwanese Government to hold the US$20 million they had promised, but they said that the money couldn’t be held in abeyance.

Therefore an arrangement was made to ask that US$6 million be added to the US$20 and be given as a grant and soft loan equally for the construction of the cross country road.

Therefore, the money secured for the international airport has nothing to do with that money that was secured by the NDP administration for the expansion of the ET Joshua airport, Dr Gonsalves said.

He also said that because of the pace with which the international airport project is progressing, it also didn’t make sense to do any major upgrading of the ET Joshua airport; including work on the runway and terminal building, which was estimated to cost some US$15 million.

As he dismissed Eustace’s stance and the recent figures that he presented about airport financing, Dr Gonsalves also told reporters that he was looking forward to the opposition staying out of parliament for two more consecutive sessions, thereby triggering by-elections in the NDP’s three seats.

While he conceded that it would be difficult to make any inroads into the Northern Grenadines constituency, Dr Gonsalves expressed confidence in his party’s ability to snatch up Eustace’s East Kingstown constituency, and the Southern Grenadines seat of Terrence Ollivierre.

He noted that if there is a by-election, the ULP has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The opposition had indicated that their protest action was because of the rape allegations levied at Dr Gonsalves, as they called on him to step aside while the matters wind themselves through the courts.(KJ)