News

Noel Thompson, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

A private-public venture partnership has been established to plan and execute the development of the Vernamfield airport in Manchester to serve the long-term cargo transport needs of Jamaica.

Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry made the announcement while addressing aviation experts at the third annual International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Air Service Negotiations Conference at The Ritz-Carlton Resort and Spa in Montego Bay on Monday.

"The official 2030 vision for Jamaica's air transport sector is to have a thriving industry with Jamaica as an alternative to the Miami International Airport, as a regional hub for cargo and passenger traffic," Henry asserted.

He said, however, that achieving this goal would require meeting a number of strategic objectives, including liberalised air-service agreements with numerous states, reduced airline operating costs, and infrastructural development.

Henry said Jamaica's favourable geographic location offers the country an opportunity to capitalise on air-traffic flows.

"With the container port in Kingston being one of three on the Eastern Seaboard of the Americas that can handle mega-container ships, Jamaica is ideally suited to become a multimodal trans-shipment centre for cargo."

The minister noted that there were varied benefits to be derived from the conference for all states, such as strengthening relationships with other states and the establishment of new partnerships within the global aviation industry.

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the ICAO's secretary general, director of the Air Transport Bureau Folasade Odutola said she was confident that consultation among delegates and governments would yield concrete results over the next few days that will benefit the travelling public, the airline industry and the states' economy.

The conference commenced on Sunday evening with a welcome cocktail reception and will end on Friday. Over the six-day period, delegates representing 43 countries from across the Caribbean, Asia and Europe will hold bilateral meetings.

Jamaica will hold discussions with at least 16 countries, including Switzerland, Iceland and the United States, with a view to sealing a number of agreements.

The conference was first held in the United Arab Emirates in 2008 and in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2009. Its objective is to bring member states together to sign bilateral and regional air-service agreements. The conference is to be rotated among the eight ICAO regions.

noel.thompson@gleanerjm.com