Engage UK partners for scaled-down approach to airport expansion— Skelton-Cline
Reacting to recent parliamentary discussions and the financial scale of the proposed works—rumoured to be upwards of $400 million—Skelton-Cline called for realism, pragmatism, and national interest to take precedence over lofty ambitions and unproductive bureaucracy.
Competitive UK Firm
Prefacing his arguments, he told the listening audience on his Honestly Speaking radio broadcast on May 12, 2025, “I listened carefully to the Minister for the Airport Authority, among other things, make his presentation in the House of Assembly; When the powers that be tell you that something costs $400 million, $450 million, $500 million, you know first of all, even if you're using somebody else's money, that you may not want to do that or do it that way.”
Instead, he urged the Virgin Islands government to take a more measured, incremental route. “Let me offer a suggestion I'm sure others have offered; It may be the case that $190 million, $200 million at best, for the rest of the runway. Let's start with that. Let's bite that off.”
Skelton-Cline was clear that such a shift in approach would likely require engagement with British financial oversight mechanisms.
To this end, he advocated strenuously for a “streamlined request for proposal project,” explicitly encouraging the government to invite a competitive UK firm to submit a bid “that you cannot refuse.”
Dialogue with the Governor- Skelton-Cline
Explaining his rationale further, Skelton-Cline pointed to both national necessity and constitutional reality, since the VI is in this "almost unusual and unholy alliance" with the United Kingdom, and has to work with them, particularly on matters of financial implication.
As such, “The reason why I am suggesting that you might want to get a UK firm, investors who are prepared to spend that kind of money, is because there must be pragmatism in service to principle.”
He posited further that, “For national security reasons, we need better government. We need our locals to be full participants in the development of that process. We need our people working. We need quarries working. We need concrete trucks working. We need our stones filling in oceans....We need our EPA people. We need everybody working. Pragmatism in service to principle.”
To this end, he said the VI will need the UK's approval, and it was prudent for the government to have dialogue with with the Governor who represents the United Kingdom's interests, "and formulate a way in which this can be fast-tracked, commenced and completed, with a reasonable figure, with concessions that make sense.”
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14 Responses to “Engage UK partners for scaled-down approach to airport expansion— Skelton-Cline”
Company for 30 plus years. We can’t have our cake and eat it too; something has to give? Residents are advocating for expanding the TBLIA to accommodate direct flights from major markets, but are they willing to pay a sunset tax/fee to assist covering the cost? Probably not..
So we can have more concrete on the ground!
And more sewage in the sea!
And more cars on the road!
And more trash from all the more people!
We need DEAD REEFS and NO FISH! No trees and no wilderness.
Forget the future generations. We need to DESTROY the BVI so a few people can make EVEN MORE money, now!
Who will get rich from this is already rich. We know this.
We have a sickness. An anti Nature sickness. A Mammon money sickness.
We need to be better.