Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit says Government will engage an international firm later this year to assist the Ministry of Tourism with the promotion of Dominica.
The Prime Minister who was speaking on his weekly talk show ‘Annou Pale’, says the promotion of Dominica and the airport will be ongoing the same time as construction of the airport.
“Towards the end of this year, we will engage an international firm that will assist the Ministry of Tourism in not only promoting the airport but promoting the country. The airport is just a part of what we are offering. And so we will be engaging this international firm who will start sharing all of the aspects of Dominica, sites, and the marketing of our country to all of these airlines. So that will start right now and we will share with the designs of the airport and the capacity of the airport. So this will be done while the airport is being built. We are not going to wait until the airport is built to start discussing with airlines promoting Dominica and promoting the airport. Not only with the airlines but with the tour operators and agents and all of the people who are involved in organizing tours and excursions, and making bookings for various individuals and companies and airlines and to share with them what we are doing in Dominica,” Prime Minister Skerrit explained.
Prime Minister Skerrit says a number of other measures are currently being undertaken to aid with the process.
“For the geo technical studies we have procured all of the equipment for the geotechnical studies. This will also be an ongoing activity. It is not a one time thing and they you just stop. This is why we are moving to clear the land to allow for the construction of the roadways and access to the lands so that we can do the geo technical studies. We have also engaged Dr. Honeychurch to assist us in ensuring that the historical heritage of this part of Dominica is protected. This part of Dominica has a very rich history especially where the Kalinagos are concerned because this whole area was occupied with Kalinagos. So whatever artifacts that we have, we can preserve them for our own posterity and for the benefit of future generations,” Honourable Skerrit stated.
Prime Minister Skerrit says many employment opportunities will also be made available for persons during the construction phase of the international airport.
“There will be many opportunities for local people to participate in the construction of the airport, as there are various stages and phases. As it is now we are building probably about thirty two homes in Wesley for persons who are being affected by the airport and who the Government has agreed to build homes for. And that will include the infrastructure, roads, water, electricity, all of these things will be placed underground to build the resilient definition that we have articulated. And all of these homes are being constructed by local contractors,” Prime Minister Skerrit noted.
The Prime Minister then called on persons who wish to be engaged during the construction phases to contact the Government.
“There will be a lot of work for Dominicans. We are building the lab and local contractors are building the lab. People will be engaged. I mean we are going to need a lot of people on this project. It is a massive undertaking and though there will be a main contractor for this, there will be many opportunities for Dominicans to be engaged in this. So I think it is a matter for us to place ourselves, be informed, reach out to the Government and MMCE and discussions can be had with you and result in you being possibly engaged,” Prime Minister Skerrit further added.