18th January 2023
Final designs for proposed international airport nearing completion in Dominica
By DNO
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has announced that heavy equipment to be used for the construction of the international airport is expected to arrive in Dominica this February.
He made the announcement while addressing a press conference on Monday.
A one billion dollar contract between the Government of Dominica and Montreal Management Consultant Establishment (MMCE) was signed on June 9, 2021, signaling the official commencement of the construction of the highly anticipated international airport.
“I am very confident that we will build this airport, there is progress being made, the ship that’s carrying the equipment is on the waters, meaning that it has left China to come in,” he said. “The contractors have been building the landing site in the Woodford Hill area…”
According to the Prime Minister, the Pottersville Savannah has been identified as a temporary landing site for some of the equipment.
Furthermore, he said the geotechnical studies are nearing completion.
“All of the studies for the earth movement have been completed with some variations because of the wetness of the soil,” he revealed. “There is more humidity in the soil than we anticipated and so forth.”
He continued, “The final designs are nearing completion because we have to keep making changes.”
He mentioned also that the lab is functioning and not only providing services to the airport, but the government is using the lab for other investigations across the country.
“So, we are very confident, and I believe the equipment based on the schedule will be in Dominica in February of this year,” Skerrit revealed.
Meantime, he said additional homes were built by his government to satisfy the needs of residents who have been affected due to the construction of the international airport.
“We had to build additional homes to satisfy the needs of some residents there…,” he said.
He said about 26 families have already moved into their homes and are very happy with the quality of the homes that they have.
“People are generally happy,” Skerrit said.
He went on to state that a number of people have been compensated.
“There are some people we cannot find because they are overseas and, in some cases, people are deceased, so we have not been able to finalize some of the payments for them, but that will be done as we go along,” the Prime Minister explained.
He added, “We are very grateful for the level of cooperation and collaboration from landowners and property owners in the area.”
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