London backing airport expansion, premier says

Ambitious plans to expand the Virgin Islands’ main airport could soon get a boost from Britain, according to Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley.

Claiming a major breakthrough at last month’s Joint Ministerial Council meeting of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, the premier said London has agreed in principle to the territory’s request to relax borrowing constraints.

Mr. Wheatley said the move — which he attributed to his persistent lobbying — would advance his government’s proposal to extend the 4,648-foot runway at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport to 7,000 feet.

“Minister for the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty expressed openness to the proposed amendment to the [2012 Protocols for Effective Financial Management] that would reduce the mandated liquidity ratio, the minimum reserve of cash and short-term assets, from 25 percent to 20 percent of the current revenue,” Mr. Wheatley said during a press conference on Friday.

He added that this move would aid his government’s ability to pay for the airport expansion, which officials have said is likely to cost at least $400 million.

“This consensus marks a pivotal step towards balancing fiscal prudence with the territory’s need for greater budgetary flexibility to fund crucial capital projects and drive economic diversification,” he said.

Funding questions

Questions over how the runway expansion would be funded have hung over the initiative since the Cabinet formally backed the move on Oct. 1.

During the Friday press conference, Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer also said he discussed infrastructure projects with business representatives while in London for the JMC, but he would not go into details on the talks.

“I met with business leaders who can support our wider infrastructure ambitions, and we will be following up,” he said.

Mr. Rymer added that the VI has explained the need for airport expansion to the UK government.

“We made clear this is not simply another capital expenditure: It is a straight investment that will define our economic future for decades,” he added. “The UK understands the Virgin Islands needs fiscal flexibility to deliver this project.”

Security issues

The premier said security issues were also key talking points at the JMC.

“We secured additional support from the Home Office on anti-violence and anti-gang programmes being administered in the UK that could assist us on the ground,” he said.

Mr. Wheatley promised that more crime-fighting resources will be available next year.

“We agreed on the provision of additional funding in our 2026 budget to support our law-enforcement agencies, including customs and immigration,” he said.

Additionally, Mr. Wheatley revealed that he and Mr. Doughty had discussed Governor Daniel Pruce’s controversial decision last month to demote Jacqueline Vanterpool from her position as acting police commissioner.

“I have to say that we were not necessarily aligned in our particular views, and he expressed his support for Governor Daniel Pruce,” the premier said.

Mr. Wheatley insisted that the affair, which saw Ms. Vanterpool replaced by a former head of the Gibraltar police, had caused concern.

“I do think that how things were handled would have undermined the concept of the modern partnership between the UK government, the governor and the elected government,” he said, adding, “The way that the governor’s discretion was handled, in my view, undermined the perception of democratic accountability.”

Climate envoy

Mr. Wheatley also announced that he had appointed former deputy premier Dr. Kedrick Pickering to be the territory’s “climate envoy.”

He said the move came after Mr. Doughty pledged to provide support for climate change initiatives in the VI.

In response to questions, the premier said Dr. Pickering’s salary had not yet been finalised.

On a related topic, Deputy Premier Julian Fraser announced the launch of a biodiversity strategy for the VI, insisting that the territory will “punch above its weight” in helping solve global environmental problems.

“We are committed to acting responsibly,” he said. “We are feverishly progressing to the introduction of an environmental bill.”

Successive governments have promised a comprehensive environmental law for more than 20 years, but no such bill has ever been tabled in the House of Assembly.

Constitution

Also on Friday, Mr. Wheatley said formal negotiations on the VI’s constitutional future will begin with the UK early next year.

He added that Mr. Doughty had set a March date to formally revoke the controversial order in council that permitted the UK to implement direct rule in the VI if the territory didn’t complete the governance reforms recommended by the 2022 Commission of Inquiry report.