Airport Redevelopment Plan on track, plan to be ready April 2023

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, November 28, 2022 – The revamp of the Providenciales International Airport is on track according to Arlington Musgrove, Minister of Immigration and Border Services for the Turks and Caicos Islands. The minister updated on the progress of the country’s leading long-stay arrivals gateway on November 21st during a town hall meeting held in Providenciales

He explained that the administrative needs of the restructuring process were going forward, the Attorney General’s office was drawing up the respective legislation needed for the mega project, lawyers and financial advisors were also hard at work in partnership with the consultants in country.

“The business case has been re-purposed for submission to the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office and it is anticipated that with the support of the Attorney General’s Chambers and the good work of the steering committee and the consultant, that the project should be able to pre-qualify by the end of the fiscal year that is April 2023.”

The consultants, ALG Global, were hired in May to provide a nine-month consultation on the financial, technical, and legal aspects of the redevelopment; ushering it in to implementation.

The consultation which prefaces the actual physical reworking of the space, is long overdue many residents feel.   As the Turks and Caicos experiences record travel booms and visitors swarm the islands, the country’s airport infrastructure has come under heavy criticism for being inadequate in size, scope and comfort.

Back in March, photos and videos of some visitors splayed out on hot concrete floors with their hands over their faces as they waited in long lines to board their departing flights, went viral.  The extreme heat and still present threat of coronavirus caused national outrage.

The Turks and Caicos Airports Authority quickly resolved the issue, altering check in times for flights of travellers and beginning construction on an airside canopy to protect visitors from sun and rain; that canopy remains under construction.

The TCI is projected to be pulling in millions of visitors by 2030; ALG says any delay in the building will severely hamper the airport’s ability to accept the flights