Cost to build airport different from value – Matthias

With more than 10,000 persons having visited the Argyle International Airport (AIA) in the past two weeks, the CEO of the International Airport Development Company (IADC) wants the public to realize that the cost incurred to build the airport is much less than its actual value.

Dr Rudy Matthias shared this information last Sunday, whilst taking part in a panel discussion on WE FM radio station.

Noting that the airport cost an estimated US$250 million (EC$675 million) to build, Matthias explained: “There is a difference between the cost of completing the airport and the value of the completed facility. One of the reasons why there is going to be a significantly higher value than the cost is because of the contributions that we have got in kind from countries like Venezuela and Cuba.”

He further pointed out that many of the engineers and technicians working on the construction of the Argyle International Airport were from Cuba.

“When you consider the cost that we paid to Cuba for each of these employees, it is a small fraction of what we would normally pay if we were to hire that same person from the Caribbean or from the UK, Canada or the USA. We do not have those persons with experience in St Vincent who are knowledgeable about building airports.”

Matthias added: “In valuing the facility you need to take cognizance of that… Though we have spent US$250 million on building and retrofitting the facility, as everyone who sees the airport will recognize, it is worth far more than that.”

He also noted that several persons, both in St Vincent and the Grenadines and in the diaspora, made financial contributions to the airport, as well as those whose contributions were in kind.(JSV)