Sunday, March 24, marked a significant day for Saint Lucia and its development efforts as government officially broke ground for the commencement of the Hewanorra International Airport Redevelopment Project.

The HIA Redevelopment project is the largest infrastructural project undertaken by the Government of Saint Lucia and the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA), and seeks to provide a world class airport facility that will become the standard for the region.

The objectives of the project are to: enable the airport to serve as a modern gateway; enhance passenger and airline expectations; meet international aviation protocols and standards; underpin broader macroeconomic development goals; develop a state-of-the-art facility that synchronizes with the growing tourism industry; resolve gate inflexibility for embarkation and disembarkation; accommodate wide body aircrafts and address insufficient apron parking; modernize the tower and technical block; provide apron/airfield development for older generation aircrafts; provide dual taxiways to feed runway system and to alleviate bottlenecks; modernize the Air Traffic Control tower with state-of-the-art equipment and technology; and improve airfield operations.

The project is being financed via a loan from the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is being implemented by the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA).