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  • CBI funds will be used to build Dominica’s international airport says PM Skerrit

CBI funds will be used to build Dominica’s international airport says PM Skerrit

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Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has announced that the funds for the construction of the international airport will come from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Program.

“We are going to do this airport on our own and this is why we started to save some monies for the airport, then the Chinese Government indicated its willingness to assist us with a significant portion of the construction funds, but COVID-19 came about and like anywhere in the world, China has been impacted,” the prime mister said on his weekly talk show on Sunday night.

He said the Chinese had indicated to him recently that they were planning to send a team, “but I have to take control of the Dominica’s time table.”

“And so how do we go about in financing the airport?” he asked.

Prime Minister Skerrit said his government’s decision to use CBI funds will minimize, if not completely eliminate, the imposition of taxes on Dominicans to help finance the construction of the airport, contracting loans, “and you won’t get concessionary financing for this except if you are getting it from China, but you won’t get financing from any financial institutions for the construction of the airport.”

Skerrit explained that his government intends to use the same financing mechanism which is being used to fund the construction of houses, health centres and hospitals in Dominica, to build the airport.

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“With this, the risk is really the developers because it’s the developer who now has to sign contracts with the contractors, so the risk is his,” the prime minister noted. “In this instance, the developer will loan somebody financing so the airport can start and we will go along building the airport and be re-reimbursed with that finance instrument.”

He further stated that with land compensation, the government is using their own funds and is also leaving an opening for the Chinese government to assist.

The prime minister did not name the developer who will be undertaking the international airport project but Montreal Management Consultants Company (MMC) is the developer which is constructing the houses, health centres and the Marigot hospital under the financing mechanism which Skerrit plans to use to build the airport.

Leader of Dominica’s Parliamentary Opposition, Lennox Linton, contends that MMC will be engaged to build the airport and believes that under the financing model articulated by the prime minister, money from the sale of Dominica’s passports will be used to build the airport and then the developer (MMC) will be paid for the full cost of an international airport that was built with Dominica’s money.

“The people’s international airport must be built with the people’s passport money and there will be no refund of any international construction money to Montreal Management…or any of his [the developer’s] companies,” Linton insists. — DNO

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]