St. Vincent Starts New Airport Work with International Aid

St. Vincent is building a new airport that will accommodate large jets for the first time. The $24 million project is expected to give a mighty boost to the Caribbean nation’s tourism industry. It is expected to be completed in 2011.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves helped workers clear the land. He hopped on a tractor and demolished a vacant home, telling reporters on Wednesday that he was “overjoyed.”

Gonsalves thanked Cuba, Venezuela, Taiwan and other nations that have pledged aid to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the project. The new airport in Argyle, about eight miles south of Kingstown near the Atlantic coast, will become the main international airport.