In keeping with its 2005 Manifesto, the Government of Anguilla is corporatising the Airport and Seaports into a single corporate entity that will be responsible for the management and operations of the Airport and Seaports. The draft final report on a study of the legislative and institutional requirements for a ports authority was received by the Government of Anguilla in December 2008 along with an action plan and timetable for the implementation of the Anguilla Air and Seaports Authority. According to the action plan the legislation for the Authority should be passed by April 2009 and the Authority is expected to be established by June 2009. The consultants for this corporatization project are DLN consultants International Inc out of Barbados.

Public consultation and sensitization of the staff will be done during the month of February. The draft final report can be viewed on the Government of Anguilla’s Website at www.gov.ai. The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, Utilities, and Housing is encouraging Anguillians and residents to review the document and to submit any comments and or recommendation before Friday, February 20, 2009.

The implementation of a Ports Authority is one step in the overall strategic process of establishing effective and efficient mechanisms to manage and operate critical public institutions and utilities of Anguilla.

The Government of Anguilla continues to invest significant resources in the development and maintenance of the Airport and Seaport infrastructure. In December 2008 a loan was secured from the Caribbean Development Bank for the construction of the Blowing Point Port Ferry Terminal. The 30% design stage of the facility has been completed by the consultants, Jacobs Consultancy and the Government of Anguilla expects to commence review of the 60% design stage in the next 10 days. The construction of the facility is expected to start during the third quarter of 2009. Construction of a temporary ferry terminal facility that will be used to process travellers using Blowing Point Port is expected to start in April 2009.

Work is continuing on the design of Corito port cargo facility. The consultants, Halcrow Group Limited from the UK is currently undertaking Meteorology and Oceanography (metocean) studies including numerical modelling and metocean modelling to inform the design of the various elements of the project. Additionally, environmental fieldwork, topographical survey, bathymetric survey and a market study were also carried out. Public consultation will also be carried out to obtain stakeholder input. The design stage is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

With respect to Wallblake Airport, the Government of Anguilla is in the process of commissioning a Master Plan study for that port facility. The overall objective of this study is to formulate a master plan to guide the development of Wallblake Airport over the period 2009-2029. It will address the requirements for the development of air transport facilities including airside and landside facilities, given the expansion of facilities planned for Wallblake Airport and Blowing Point Ferry Port.
- Press Release

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