Dominica First to Receive Loan to Improve Air Connectivity in the Caribbean
On May 28th, 2020, the World Bank announced a concessional loan worth US $ 13 million to be conceded on June, 01, 2020for the Commonwealth of Dominica to improve the overall air connectivity in the Caribbean region and upgrade the airport infrastructure. The loan is aimed to facilitate safe accommodation of diverted flights, post disaster relief, post pandemic operations and other emergencies. The island nation has been putting millions aside from its revenue generated by its Citizenship by Investment Program to build its first international airport.
Apart from Dominica which is the first beneficiary of the Caribbean airport projects, the World Bank is also to finance Grenada, St Lucia and Haiti. This concessional loan has a 40 years maturity and a 10 years grace period.
Improvised air connectivity and transportation will considerably increase the country's economy and other developmental aspects. The press release issued by the World Bank also specified that "Navigation and safety equipment will be improved, enabling emergency landing in case of natural disasters and increasing capacity in air traffic control, wildlife management, airport management and planning,". The Country Director of the Caribbean, Mr Tahseen Sayed, of the World Bank has notified that the project enhances "the overall resilience of key connection points in the Eastern Caribbean."
Financial Times PMW magazine has called Dominica’s as the world’s best CBI program in its annual list of countries thrice consecutively. Dominica, also known as the nature’s paradise in the Caribbean region is emerging as an ecotourism destination taking into account climate resilience, nature immersion, and sustainability as priority rather than the quantity of visitors. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's vision is to make Dominica ‘world’s first climate resilient nation’. For that objective, the country is diligently upgrading and modernizing the infrastructure and other facilities including healthcare and hurricane resilient homes, eco-conscious hotels, geothermal plants etc, with the help of its burgeoning tourism and successful CBI program which has increased the country’s GDP considerably.
Nature lovers with global entrepreneurial aspirations are at the focal point of tourism as well as Dominica Citizenship by Investment Program to visit as tourists, live, work and study as economic citizens. Reputed foreign investors with high net worth are encouraged to join the program and take part in the sustainable growth of the country and its infrastructure.