By Devonne Cornelius
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN) — On Wednesday, November 04, 2020, members of the media were invited to participate in a tour of the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport (RLBIA) to see firsthand the progress of the COVID-19 Retrofitting Project.
The project is being undertaken by the government in collaboration with the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA).
Present at the media tour was Minister of Tourism, Transport and Ports, Hon. Lindsay Grant, who provided details about the works he said, are substantially completed.
The Tourism Minister said “You would have just received an exclusive insight to the substantially completed retrofitted works at the arrivals area and the new COVID-19 passenger arriving and departure processes” adding that “SCASPA has been working diligently to ensure that the airport’s infrastructure and facilities are adequate for the safe processing of all passengers”.
“The upgrade to the infrastructure included the resurfacing of the Alpha Taxi Way, the longest taxiway used primarily for the larger airlines. And the connection of taxiway alpha and taxiway bravo, and the parking apron” he said.
Minister Grant who also has responsibility for Transport said the first flight is expected to land on Saturday, November 07, 2020, carrying 122 passengers.
“As you are aware on Saturday, October 31, 2020, the federation of St. Kitts and Nevis officially reopened our borders to commercial flights, the first of which is scheduled to arrive at the RLB…on Saturday, November 7th, 2020, with, I am advised…in the region of, as of today [Nov. 04] 122 passengers. That means the flight is technically full because it is a 128 seater”.
Work is to be completed at a cost of EC$2.6 million dollars, funded by the government. The project is being done by Baley Project Management and Construction Incorporated, and Brisbane O’Garro Alvaranga are the architects.
The retrofitting commenced on September 28, 2020.
