CASTRIES, St. Lucia– Opposition Leader Allan Chastanet Tuesday described as “irresponsible, reckless and completely false” by Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre regarding the Hewan Orra International Airport (HIA) redevelopment project south of here.
In addressing the 58th annual general meeting of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA), Pierre said if the project is allowed to continue under its existing conditions, it could cost the government approximately US$400 million.
Last August, the government appointed a seven-member review committee to assess the project. Pierre told the hoteliers that the committee had made several findings, repeating some of the statements he had made during a town hall meeting in Vieux Fort, south of here, earlier this month.
“The development of the terminal building at HIA was projected to cost US$175 million. The prime minister elected the main contractor for the most significant national project form of competitive bidding.
“On instructions, the terminal building was re-located from the original site to an area further west requiring ten times more piling from the original plan of 310 to 3 006 piles. The foundation cost escalated from EC$4.86 million to EC$51.3 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents), “Pierre said.
Pierre said that the International Financial Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank had been re-engaged to advise his administration on the project.
“The project would have ended up costing approximately US$400 million…on its current projector, which was of September last year before the increases such as inflation, etc. are concerned.
“As a responsible government, whereas we want the airport to continue, we want the airport to be renovated in all good conscience we could not continue on that path,” he said, adding that the government has “invited the IFC, who were the original people who were involved in the project that ought to have been a PPP arrangement …
He said the IFC would be asked to “review the options proposed by the committee and to advise the government on the best value engineering option for the continuation of the HIA redevelopment project in the interest of the people of St. Lucia.”
But in an open letter to Pierre, the Opposition Leader said that the HIA project is among the most “crucial to the development and future of our country and forms an integral part of our island’s medium-term development strategy, not just because of its far-reaching contribution in terms of creating employment in the south and island-wide, but in terms of building a solid foundation for our country’s future growth; specifically, the projected advancement of our tourism industry.”
Chastanet said that the statements made by Prime Minister Pierre have caused him to question further whether “you recognize and acknowledge the importance of this project and the sensitivity and honesty with which it must be handled.
“Your statements were irresponsible, reckless, and completely false. They have the potential to cause damage to our country on numerous fronts,” Chastanet said, noting that he could not sit back and allow him to “jeopardize and undermine the credibility of the St. Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA), the reputable international agencies, international and regional financial institutions and other local agencies involved in the HIA project.
Chastanet said it is” common knowledge” that he and Prime Minister Pierre “hold different views on the Hewan Orra International Airport Redevelopment Project altogether.”
He said that the present government was the proponent of a PPP arrangement with the IFC, which would “see our country enter a 30-year agreement, with a foreign entity collecting EC$60 per traveler, regardless of the fluctuations in the number of passengers.
“The original plan was to the build the airport terminal in the car park behind the existing terminal, a small space, requiring 300 piles. This move had many issues: the money the people of Saint Lucia would forfeit and the lack of room for expansion.”
Chastanet acknowledged that his government “took a more ambitious approach” and “negotiated and secured a loan with the Taiwanese government and approved the expansion of the plans into an area that would consider climate change and future growth prospects.
“Keeping to the original plan would have been myopic as a new terminal in the remote location would have been chaotic and caused significant congestion. We also had to factor in the plans for increased economic activity in Vieux Fort: the homeporting, the racetrack, the call centers, and the hotel developments.
“Recognizing all of those reasons, instead of demolishing the old building that the original plan called for, the decision was taken to keep the existing terminal and retrofit it for cruise passengers and charter flights.”
Chastanet described it as a “fabrication” that the project was not tendered, saying the main contractor was OECC. This Taiwan company built the St Vincent terminal and have made billions of dollars in roads, airport, and seaports.
“OECC was awarded the contract because concessional financing came from the EXIM Bank of Taiwan. In turn, OECC tendered the piling contract and the main structure, as would all other components of HIA,” Chastanet said, adding that there were three project overseers to “further strengthen governance and transparency.”
In his lengthy letter, Chastanet called on Prime Minister Pierre “to sit with your technocrats, get a full grasp of the intricacies of this project. They have worked at this for several years and have the skills necessary to guide you.
“If you neglect to do this, I am concerned that your continued politicization of this issue, baseless statements, indecisiveness, and conflicting information will jeopardize the hard work done on St. Lucia’s behalf,” he wrote.
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