The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has assured the public that all financing necessary to complete the rehabilitation of the V.C. Bird International Airport runway will be secured, regardless of cost.
According to Antigua.news, the assurance emerged during Thursday's post-Cabinet briefing, where questions were raised about an approved EC$80 million loan and whether that sum was sufficient to cover the full cost of the runway rehabilitation project.
Addressing the query, Maurice Merchant stated that the government remains firmly committed to seeing the project through to completion. "The airport rehabilitation, its runway cannot be halfway done, and so whatever funding is required to ensure that it's fully completed will be met," Merchant said.
Work on the runway rehabilitation is ongoing, with the project advancing ahead of the upcoming tourism and Carnival season — two of the busiest and most economically significant periods in the country's calendar.
The government has not yet provided a detailed breakdown of how the full EC$80 million loan allocation will be utilised. Officials did, however, stress that completing the airport infrastructure is a national priority.
