Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit says his administration has no plans to re-open the Canefield Airport to commercial traffic because it is not economical.
“Every dollar we make at the airport, we are spending 25, so it is not a viable enterprise. I think eventually the people of Dominica will have to take a decision on it as to whether we continue to have it as an airport or some other facility,” Skerrit said.
“At the end of the day you have to take a responsible decision of the contribution of the Canefield Airport.”
The airport, on the outskirts of the capital, was opened during the 1990s under the Patrick John government, and Skerrit acknowledged its convenience.
“I would rather fly into the Canefield Airport but at the end of the day it has to boil down to economics,” he said.
The prime minister also indicated that “tens of thousands of dollars” had been spent on improving the road network from the Melville Hall Airport, the island’s main airport.
“The second phase is under construction … it is a major project from the airport to town. It is costing the people of Dominica quite a bit of money to construct and we are committed to improving that because the main challenge has been the narrowness of the road and the dangerous bends, and those things will be corrected once the roads are completed.”
China is also providing millions of dollars for the construction of the West Coast road from Portsmouth in the north to the capital.
– CMC
