Text of Taped TV Interview on the Airport Issue with
Dr. Lowell Lewis, Acting Chief Minister &
Stephen Young, DFID’s Civil Infrastructure Program Engineer
Aired on Local Access TV, Channel 5—Tuesday, October 02, 2001
B. Roach: Good evening and welcome again viewers to another program which we call simply The Montserrat Reporter. It’s being brought to you by People’s Television and this we plan to bring to you each week. The focus of our program as we’ve said before is simply to keep our people accurately informed about things and events that happen in and affecting this island, as I usually add, as we rise out of the ashes. That’s a favorite statement these days.
We’re not going to lose too much time tonight. We are happy to be back with you and for the first time I am pleased to introduce on this program, Dr. Lowell Lewis, Minister of Communications & Works in our current government and Mr. Stephen Young who is the Civil Infrastructure Program Engineer with DFID here in Montserrat. Gentlemen, welcome.
Doctor, we’ll be talking tonight, obviously your presence here and Mr. Young, everybody I think will guess by now already that we are going to be talking about the airport or airstrip, slash (/) airstrip as I like to term it. And I’m going to start out by referring you to a statement you made a few weeks ago which I’ve read several times before:
“We have been able to get the services of a civil aviation organization engineer who has set out what we need to do in order to get a safe airport here. So we are proceeding with the understanding that if the investigations which are necessary prove the area to be safe that we will proceed.”
The thing about this I think, people especially followed up by the Chief Minister’s comment towards the end of last week that we will be building an airstrip at Geralds. And before you proceed I think you are the Acting Chief Minister.
Dr. Lewis: Yes. I think it is difficult to start a discussion in the middle of a subject and I think whatever I say has to be taken in context with the overall picture. And so I would like to start by saying that the government of Montserrat, as you know, wants and is committed to having an airport that is the best for the people of Montserrat to allow us to have economic survival.
We came into office having stated that we would look at the options and take the best available option to us. And we also expressed clearly that we would like to have an airport with the potential for expansion that would allow us to have access to larger aircraft with direct flights from places other than Antigua.
Since coming into office, we have been able to see all the factors. Our first task was to try to change the decision, which had more or less been made of putting a short-term, temporary solution at Geralds -- to change this to having that short-term, temporary solution at the same location of a permanent strip. We made representations at the highest level and all our attempts to convince our financing partners did not succeed.
B. Roach: To convince them what?
Dr. Lewis: That we should have the temporary solution in the same location as a possible long-term, permanent airstrip. So we have had many discussions and ? and the government has made the decision that the short-term, temporary solution being offered is the option that we should accept at the present time.
What we’ve been able to insist on is that the prerequisite meteorological or wind studies, flight performance tests and noise assessments be done before such an airstrip is constructed.
B. Roach: So when the impression is given or anybody takes the position that a decision has been made (and I’ll take you back a bit, because you said you tried to undo a previous decision regarding settling at Geralds) maybe you can bring the two in for me. When you say that with all the studies that have to be done, you’re saying that the decision is what? To just go ahead and prepare and do the studies, etc?
Dr. Lewis: Which previous decision?
B. Roach: Well, you said earlier that one of the things you tried to do was to reverse a decision that was made and have our financers look at other options. What was that decision that was made before?
Dr. Lewis: Well I think that announcements were made by the government before we came into power that plans were being made to proceed with the preparations for a strip at Geralds.
B. Roach: So what you met were the same as what you’ve agreed to now?
Dr. Lewis: Yes, we have agreed to it with the conditions that the prerequisite studies be done and we’ve been since told that it has always been planned that the prerequisite studies would be done anyway.
B. Roach: Now regarding this airstrip at Geralds and you said you had looked at other options, what are those other options you looked at? To back just a little bit, we know that there was a situation of the W.H. Bramble and that, for obvious reasons, had to be thrown aside so that’s pretty much out of the equation. We know that the Thatch Valley situation would simply cost—even though there are those of us who believe that it is not as much as they say—it is just out of reach. But in between there I think there was some interest in the Old Quaw position. Is this the other area that we had looked at or?”
Dr. Lewis: Yes, a factor has always been affordability and there has been some debate for years about Thatch Valley. The underlying problem with Thatch Valley was that it was always going to cost about $200 million which we could not find a source …
B. Roach: Twice that according to Gibb.
Dr. Lewis: And what happened was that the CRM group, a group of businessmen developed an alternative option which they came and presented to me and to our government. We went down to the area, visited it and actually felt that their proposal was worthy of examination, especially since they gave a quote of $53 million for completing a strip down there and I feel that based on that information, it was worthy of an assessment and our efforts to try and get a change from the plan to put the short-term, temporary solution at Geralds was based on this proposal from the CRM.
What has happened since the original presentation is that we’ve found several things, like the fact that because Geralds has been used as a heliport for some time now that we have at least, preliminary information regarding wind direction and wind strength whereas, down at Old Quaw and Thatch Valley, there’s nothing. We have never been able to assess anything down there.
B. Roach: Why is that so? If that proposal had come in from CRM that -- okay, we think we have – because they have always been opposed to Geralds so we start with that.
Dr. Lewis: On the grounds that Geralds, in their opinion, will not offer anything to the future economic development of Montserrat. And, in fact, while I commend the CRM group, I felt that it’s a pity they did not have enough real support from the community in terms of money because if the community really wanted an airstrip down at Thatch Valley or Old Quaw, they would have got behind them and given them the money necessary to put down, at least a windbag to get an idea of the direction of wind and the consistency of the wind.
B. Roach: Because what you’re telling me is that this is the plus for Geralds— it’s because we’ve had all that information gathered over the period?
Dr. Lewis: Yes, that’s right. At least we have preliminary data which allows us to make a considered judgment that the test studies we do at Geralds are likely to confirm that it is usable, that it will produce an airstrip usable for a variety of aircraft, which aircraft will be determined by the flight-performance tests.
But going back to the initiative of the CRM, which could have been a much better initiative if they had the financial support to make the area accessible namely with a road which eventually cost us only $15,000 to cut; if they had had the support to put in place a meteorological station which would cost about $50,000 to collect initial data; if they had come forward with an offer from all the landowners saying they have signed and agreed to give up the land for the road down into that area to be free; if they had come with an indication that the owners of the area were prepared to make the area available for this national need, then it would have been a much easier option. As it is, none of that has happened. So it still remains, what I call an unaffordable option with not enough information about it for us to proceed with a temporary solution down there. And let me just finish. And basically, the big question at the back of one’s mind is what if we say no to everything else, we embark on a series of studies over 5 years or 4 to 5 years to see if Old Quaw and Thatch Valley are suitable and the results come back saying, sorry, we’re not going to let you build an airport there because the conditions are not ideal.
B. Roach: So you are saying that the whole idea… Let me ask first, how then did the government not – if from your perspective you saw that this seemed reasonable, so that the government saw that as a reasonable option, where was the support for this group? Or, where was the support for that option to start doing some of the things that you were saying? I notice you said the community didn’t come forward and so on and so forth but…
Dr. Lewis: The support initially came from the government. My Chief Minister literally said, let’s go find some bulldozers and give CRM and let’s see if we can help them get down there ready. We went to London and presented this and unfortunately, we were told quite clearly the monies allocated to Montserrat are more or less fixed. Unless you can find alternative sources, how are you going to afford it? So the question of affordability has been critical in the government’s decision of how actively we can pursue having the airstrip at Old Quaw or Thatch Valley.
To deal with the question about whether it would have been better to say no, we are not taking anything anywhere,
B. Roach: My next question.
Dr. Lewis: depends on measuring up the advantages and the disadvantages of having something at Geralds and that is where we finally had to make a decision on.
B. Roach: What happens in the meantime since what we’re doing – and I’ll just tell you what your next statement was and see how that fits in with what we are in fact saying. What happens if after all of this we come up very quickly and find that it’s not going to be very safe, it’s not going to offer us the 90, 95% of safe flights into Montserrat, what happens if we get to that? Where do we go from there?
Dr. Lewis: That is why as we say, we have insisted on having the prerequisite studies and fortunately because of our forward thinking, we are in the process of making what will be in fact our ultimate objective, which is to have a proper strip and at an appropriate place, making it more easily achievable and actually more affordable in that I am hoping that if perchance, and it’s unlikely to happen, that the studies say, no, no, no, never, nothing at Geralds—that we will say, okay fortunately because of the work of CRM and the fact that we’ve had six months of meteorological data that we can then make a decision that we do have an alternative. But we won’t know until we see the studies and the results or the indications of what the results are going to show.
B. Roach: Of both places?
Dr. Lewis: Of any place in Montserrat.
B. Roach: Right, well you see, because I mean it would be foolhardy, it seems to me to go ahead just on Geralds if there’s that possibility and not know immediately that there is someplace else that is more expensive but maybe more suitable.
Dr. Lewis: But there are other factors. You see, there are other factors, other factors which include the need to get the Montserrat economy going and it’s going, I’m not saying about the ultimate objective because you know – Some people have said, look if you take this short-term solution, that’s it; you’re not going to get the long-term solution and I argue and this is why I’ve been able to finally convince myself to live with a compromise is that I see a way for us actually getting that long-term, permanent solution which we need and will have.
B. Roach: Okay, let me stop you hear and I’d like to bring Mr. Young into the picture and just before we go to a break, Mr. Young, you’ve been sitting, you’ve been listening to all of this and I know from your perspective, your interest is in the actual diagrams and the drawings and stuff like that. We will have here the Geralds, on television in a little minute—with the Geralds picture that we’ve had, you will tell me how that compares with this? If we can have this drawing which is I think is an actual or preliminary drawing, I think you refer to it.
S. Young: Yes, that’s right.
B. Roach: If you’ll tell us, explain to us a little bit just what the doctor has just said in terms of the preliminaries, can you tell us what is going on here?
S. Young: Yes, I think the key point that the Minister has made is that whatever route forward we see, it needs to be affordable and I think it’s out of that that we see really Geralds as being the best solution for the temporary airstrip. The European Union have also been able to provide funds for the airstrip provided that they are committed fairly quickly and so the European Union have funded a further study of Geralds airstrip. I would say at this point that we’re specifically looking at a temporary airstrip and it is a preliminary study. I’ll move to show the drawing up here which has been produced by the consultants SAI and whilst, you know, we look at a very finished drawing I would stress again that this is a preliminary drawing of what it might look like and obviously as Dr. Lewis has said, there are a number of further studies which have got to go on to confirm whether this is the actual best shape and location or not.
So with that proviso I can describe what’s here. Just to orientate you, the hospital is up in the area here, the present approach to the heliport we come up here and make that difficult turn up and along the road here. Here is the present heliport terminal building and the present landing spot for the helicopter is about here. So the runway extends for 500 meters as it’s shown here across the ridge. Obviously the land falls away very steeply at either end of the runway but we are trying to make best use of the available top of the hillside there to get the 500-meter strip in. There is then a taxiway down here for the area where aircraft will park which is really just in front of the present terminal building, which under this arrangement would be retained.
B. Roach: You can help us. Is that brown spot where the present water …..
S. Young: Yes, there’s a pond there at the present time and I think actually as it’s showed here it is made slightly smaller but it’s shown here as being retained on this layout at least.
B. Roach: So how does this compare with what we are looking at here in an actual green spot with houses all around, an actual photograph with a little bit of art work?
S. Young: Yes, I think we see here, as you extend out towards the west, you can see the need to just make a small embankment there to take the end of the runway. There’ll be a similar one at the other end.
B. Roach: Is this what we’re talking about the …
S. Young: That’s right. You can see the way the fill is piled up there but obviously the hill does fall away very quickly there and that’s the unfortunate limitation of Geralds really, that the length that we have here which is 500 meters, you know, we can’t go an awful lot longer than that at this location.
B. Roach: Let me ask you-- our understanding initially, because we started talking initially on this whole matter about a 600-meter, would that have necessitated this to be in a different… Is that possible, for example, if you run it in say, not straight down like this but say across there somewhere?
S. Young: Well, the orientation of the runway is obviously very dependent on the overall wind climate, the wind directions and so the orientation in this way – which is almost due east-west – is designed to take account of the wind climate at the site.
B. Roach: So all efforts were really made to really get that mesh so that the wind factor that we hear so much about – all the reports and everybody have said that’s critical, that’s the reason why we are down to that.
S. Young: Yes, that’s right. You referred earlier to the availability of the airport. Here certainly, we should be able to get very good availability. It wouldn’t have to be shut very often because of crosswinds, that sort of thing. So that’s why the alignment is so good, then fixing the alignment on the site, in many ways, the alignment that’s chosen here was fixed to try to cause the minimum disruption to the community, the minimum loss of property and disruption to obviously the property owners and that’s a very key consideration. I mean I was very pleased to hear the Chief Minister the other day stressing the importance that would be attached to taking it forward with people, trying to agree what the best compensation packages were for them to accommodate their own needs. And it is very unfortunate that any people are going to have to be relocated or their properties lost but unfortunately it is inevitable that there would be one or two.
B. Roach: Viewers you are looking at a discussion on the airport issue with myself Bennette Roach from The Montserrat Reporter on the program called “The Montserrat Reporter” with Dr. Lowell Lewis, Minister of Communications & Works and Mr. Stephen Young from DFID’s office here in Montserrat. We will take a short break and when we come back Doctor we will go into this issue of the enhancement, how an airstrip at Geralds will enhance, from your perspective, will enhance the development of Montserrat.
Welcome back viewers as we’re talking airport/airstrip here with Dr. Lewis, Minister of Communications & Works, Acting Chief Minister I guess I should be referring to him as today and Mr. Stephen Young who is the Civil Infrastructure Program Engineer at DFID.
Doctor, one of the arguments – and perhaps the strongest argument – (in my view) that is being used by the opponents of an airstrip at Geralds is that it will not afford any improvement or enhancement to the development of Montserrat. It’s felt – because the report states that it will require special-type Twin Otters to come in that it will most likely reduce us to just Islanders which would bring 8, 9 people in at a time. So that won’t improve our situation from where we have it now where we have a helicopter that – expensive though it might be – that is servicing the emergency transportation in here with 9, 10 people. How do you respond to that? And I think that you mentioned that it was one of the key concerns, as a matter of fact, the Chief Minister, just before he departed for London the other day, did mention that too as one of the key decisions or key factors that brought you to this decision where you are willing to go ahead with the preliminary works on Geralds.
Dr. Lewis: Well, that’s a difficult question, Bennette. Let me start first of all by apologizing for the perspiration. It’s not because I’m stressed or because I have any problem with the situation, it’s just the heat in the studio. But I think that the key here is getting the economy of Montserrat going and salvaging or getting us to recover properly. And that’s why we made the effort to win this election because we felt that we had in our team, the skills and the ability to make the right decisions for the people of Montserrat, decisions that could be very difficult, unpopular but that would ultimately get us to restoring Montserrat to its thriving economic growth.
Basically, in a way, it’s a little like in my work. I have been faced in situations where I’ve been in surgery with a patient and I’ve asked for size a 18 tube and the nurses turn to me and say I’m sorry sir, there’s none and I have a patient there and they are open, they need the tube, they are going to die if I don’t do something and I say, okay I’ll make do with a 12 for now and then I’ll have a chance to correct it later on and get a live patient succeeding. So for me it’s a sound decision.
B. Roach: I’m not going to ask anything about that analogy.
Dr. Lewis: So for me, it’s a sound decision that falls in with the type of difficult decisions you have to do with saving lives. Now the situation of what would Geralds do for our economy? We need a fixed-wing aircraft; we need it within the next 2 or 3 years because in two or three years time we will not have money for a proper helicopter service or a ferry service because the subsidies will more or less end. But more importantly, by that time unless we are able to bring more people into Montserrat more regularly we will not be able to even progress with the construction of a tourist product to bring the kind of revenue that Montserrat needs to be viable economically. I’ve been very upset by reading a string of reports from consultants that say Montserrat will never be economically viable, that we will remain in grant-in-aid for the next 5 to 10 years. And as you know, when we won the election we said to the people of Montserrat, we will bring you out of grant-in-aid by 2005. We have the skills and the ability to turn the economy around and get us where we want to.
We have assessed the potential resources in Montserrat and we know, for instance, that if we develop quarry products, industry where we export not only the volcanic material but also the rocks, we have the potential of making $6-8 million dollars a year in that area. And this is all relevant. If we look at a tourist product and how we can develop it taking into account the potential hotel sites we have, we have the potential of restoring our revenues from tourism to the level they were before. If we get the manufacturing sectors up and running with proper marketing and so on we have a potential for recovering. If we manage to attract more people back home to build houses, then we have a chance. Now, in order to get to that step we must have an airport. And the key thing is to use this process of a temporary, short-term solution to actually achieve that objective.
B. Roach: I’m going to come back to you on that. I want to bring Mr. Young in here. On the issue of safety—I don’t know if you can speak to this – and on that critical issue because he hasn’t really touched it but there’s that issue as to ? but this is critical, I think, the aircraft that we can actually bring in here. If we can’t bring in something that’s going to be, unless we’re going to bring an Islander in 5 times a day, which we will need sometimes—it’s not every day that we’re going to need that, how are the studies coming along in this way?
S. Young: Yes. Before I move on to that and perhaps just reinforce the point the Minister made, which is this one about the present transportation subsidy, you know, which is something like EC$12 million every year just to keep the transport facilities working and that’s money that can’t be used on other development projects, housing and other social projects—that can’t be used at the moment because it’s having to support those transportation links. Clearly the intention is that once we have the airstrip in place, that we will be able to have commercially viable flights there, which will not require those subsidies so that money will be available.
The other point I mentioned earlier about the European Union contribution. They are prepared to put into this project something like £5 million, EC$20 million which otherwise would be lost to the program so that is time-limited funds that if we don’t access them shortly will be lost so again that’s a lot of money coming into Montserrat that would otherwise not be able to be taken advantage of.
You asked specifically about the aircraft and the safety issues associated with the proposed airstrip and I’m pleased to be able to talk to those because I believe that there has been some misinformation, misinterpretation perhaps of the position. Basically, in setting out the design requirements for the airstrip, it has been stated that the consultants must allow for a Twin Otter, fully loaded, operating in short-take-off-and-landing mode but to be able to operate with a full load into and out of this airstrip. And indeed, that was the requirement that was taken onto account in development of the 500-meter airstrip by SAE here and that will continue through into the more detailed design now. So there’s absolutely no question that we are dealing with an aircraft any smaller than a Twin Otter with its 20 seats fully loaded.
The other issue is the one of safety. It was interesting when I spoke to the consultants who undertook this preliminary work, I said, obviously we must give high consideration to safety and they said to me, safety is our number one priority.
B. Roach: That is true. In all the reports, they say that.
S. Young: There will absolutely be no doubt that any airstrip that is put in here is safe. For a start it has to be in accordance with ICAO requirements, it has to be certified by ICAO and as part of that, obviously they will ensure that all of the necessary safety considerations have been taken into account. So there is absolutely no doubt that any airstrip that is put in here will comply fully with all the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Authorities that require it therefore and will mean that it is safe.
B. Roach: It’s with that background and with all that put in, is that what’s going to make this commercial, I mean commercially safe because you did mention that word, that—not commercially safe but that it would be commercially viable. In other words, if we can see this eventually that Montserrat will be part of a schedule someplace where get to Antigua and the next step is to Montserrat, not something that’s just peculiar or exclusive to Montserrat-Antigua. Will this be the position or not?
S. Young: That is the absolute intention and again we have a requirement for the consultants to liaise closely with the airlines operating in the region operating the sort of aircraft that we’ve discussed and we want to come in and out of Montserrat and already we are getting positive signals that yes, it would be included on their schedule and those discussions will continue.
B. Roach: I see, because that’s the one thing too that I think was somewhat missing although we’ve seen that in some reports earlier where we can end up with an airstrip at Geralds but suddenly find there’s no aircraft or airline willing, or anybody willing to operate an airline into Montserrat.
S. Young: Well as I said, I can assure you again that that dialogue is ongoing to ensure as absolutely as possible that that will not be the case, that we will see an operator providing a commercial service into Montserrat.
B. Raoch: Doctor, we hope that in two years, if everything goes well that is, that we will have this airstrip. Where from there? What from there?
Dr. Lewis: Well the key word is commercial value and I think that what we have to—I mean an airstrip like the one we get at Geralds will be commercially viable even if we have a strip elsewhere because one has to have a vision and I foresee us one day being able to use Geralds heliport or airport as a base for helicopter tours from cruise ship visitors who come to Montserrat or private people, private individuals who have built a nice home down in Drummonds or wherever and keep an aircraft, use Geralds as their base.
But at the same time we would have created a situation where we would be in a position to afford a permanent strip in another location and this is probably an appropriate time to look at Old Quaw because what that photograph shows us is where all this discussion about Old Quaw is and you have to go down there to appreciate why it is in fact a suitable site for an airport. Obviously Thatch Valley is on the other side and Thatch Valley has the problem … but the proposed airstrip comes from that edge, that mound right at the top running over that edge behind there and in fact it’s an area of about, I think it’s four and a half thousand feet, 5000 feet which is good 150 meters wide and will, in fact, provide a suitable landing strip if the wind studies and the flight performance tests for that area show it to be satisfactory.
How to achieve that over the next 4 or 5 years depends on our determination to make it affordable. And I believe that if we manage to—if the owners of the land down to that area, for instance, give up the land for the roadway, if the owners down there develop a golf course, if the people who own the land where the strip may go allow us to use it as a quarry to gradually export material and at the same time level it off, we can eventually achieve an airport, at least a landing strip which is affordable.
B. Roach: So in your mind, what I’m hearing from you is that in your mind and in your vision and is this the vision of everybody, the government, so to speak?
Dr. Lewis: No, well, no. I think it’s important you try – when somebody has a vision or an idea as a group that gets together and you try and convince your colleagues. That’s how we won the election. We tried to convince people that we are the people to vote for because we can make decisions for you. I mean, basically, I got 65% of the vote but that means that 35% of the people didn’t, so I can’t convince everybody. And in our Party, where there are seven of us elected, not all seven of us may have the same opinion and the same views but we look at the majority and the consensus and we come to a decision based on what we think is in the best interests of the people of Montserrat.
I don’t say – okay it might be the end of my political career because I made a decision to take Geralds with the expectation of us being able at some stage be able to afford a strip down at Old Quaw or Thatch Valley and then finding that the restrictions imposed on us by DFID or any other organization, or failure for cooperation within the service does not allow us to achieve this, what I call being independent of budgetary aid and move forward on account of that – if that happens and we cannot afford Old Quaw then I will have made a wrong judgment at this time. But I’ve made this judgment now with the understanding that I will be able to convince our partners, DFID and our senior civil servants and all the people interested in moving Montserrat forward to agree with the program we’ve planned for the economic recovery of Montserrat.
B. Roach: So I think you’ve sort of described for us what temporary means. Temporary, from what I’m hearing you say, is somewhere between 2 to 5 years.
Dr. Lewis: I cannot guarantee anything. I cannot guarantee what the volcano is going to do but I can plan for things as we expect them to happen. And if was to put time lines on it and I’m one for this. I always give dates when I expect things to happen. I don’t even know if I’ll be in office by the year 2008 but looking at the way the island is going, I would hope to see a permanent strip able to take Amerijet aircraft or American Eagle from Puerto Rico landing down at a strip in that area in the year 2008.
B. Roach: At what cost?
Dr. Lewis: By that time, hopefully the government of Montserrat would be in a position to borrow money. We will be able to, if we have quarried the area flat, we will be able to finance it within our means.
B. Roach: So your plans are really to use the area to generate revenue to be able to do what you want to do with it in 5 years time?
Dr. Lewis: Well, that’s for me, that’s the option. If I beg for money and nobody gives it to me I then have to set about how I am going to get it. And if I have people who come here and tell me that we have 15-20 years of natural resources which will give the island $7-8 million a year in revenues and I look at other areas of activity and I see a way forward, it’s stupid for me not to say, well this is the option we must take.
B. Roach: Thank you very much Dr. Lewis and thank you very much Mr. Stephen Young. Unfortunately we have to break this so abruptly but this we must because we are completely out of time. But I suppose as time goes on as we proceed that we will be happy to come back here and talk to the people and provide us the information that we seek.
Dr. Lewis: Just a final word. I have been accused of trying to deceive people. I have basically, when I make a statement about something we hope to do, it’s based on my best judgment, it’s got nothing to do with deception.
B. Roach: I think people are concerned that perhaps you seem to say yes we will go ahead with Geralds when, in fact, people believe (people on the CRM and others maybe around you) who believe that it’s not really what you wish). And I don’t know if you may have explained that somehow to the people that… Well actually we never touched on it.
Dr. Lewis: It’s not what I would wish but it is what I could live with because I see an outcome which is consistent with our ultimate goals.
B. Roach: Thank you very much.
S. Young: Thank you. Perhaps I’d just make a closing statement really which is that I think, you know, we are extremely pleased to see the airstrip moving ahead now. We see it as vital to the regeneration of Montserrat’s future economy. As I’ve indicated previously, it’s going to be an airstrip that will take Twin Otters fully loaded. It’s going to be an entirely safe airstrip. Clearly, there are issues associated with the social disruption and relocation that’s associated with any major construction like this. But I am pleased that the government have already indicated that they will address that, you know, in as sympathetic a manner as they can to try and find the best way forward in that and I think it’s going to be an important step in Montserrat moving forward and I hope that all the people of Montserrat will be able to come behind this decision and to really press it forward to completion.
B. Roach: Viewers you have been looking at a discussion intended to provide you information with this ongoing discussion regarding an airstrip at Geralds and an airport for Montserrat. We thank you for looking. Do keep looking at us, The Montserrat Reporter, brought to you by People’s Television. Gentlemen, thank you very much.