“I am honored to stand here today at the historic celebration of the practical completion of the construction of the new terminal building at the A.N.R. Robinson International Airport: a moment that marks a new era of connectivity and growth for Tobago and our country. This is the fulfillment of a promise made by this Administration to the people of Tobago. For decades, Tobago has yearned for an international airport facility that matches its status as a premier destination; now, the vision has become a reality.
You may wonder what is the role of the Ministry of Finance in this project, since the ministry is not normally responsible for airport development. The answer is straightforward – after a number of stops and starts and several unsuccessful attempts over the years to construct a modern international airport in Tobago, Cabinet decided in December 2017 that the Ministry of Finance should be take the lead as the Client Ministry in this project because of its complexity and cost, especially since significant land acquisition, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, was required. Initially the project was envisaged as a Public-Private-Partnership, using a Build-Own-Lease-Transfer (BOLT) arrangement. However, it soon became clear that that approach, although less onerous on the Treasury, would take a long time to develop into an actual construction project.”