The Saint Lucia Fire Service stands to benefit tangibly from the ongoing Caribbean Air Transport Connectivity Project (CATCOP). Financed by the World Bank, through funding by the International Development Association (IDA), CATCOP is being implemented by the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA).
The World Bank officials accompanied by local representatives visited the Saint Lucia Fire Service in May and were updated on the CATCOP’s progress.
Chief Fire Officer Mr. Ditney Downes said the Hewannorra International Airport has benefitted tremendously from the project.
“The project will ensure that we have a proper training room equipped with the most modern training equipment; this in itself is a plus for our preparation in the event of an aircraft emergency. There is also a component of the project that will renovate our control room and upgrade it into a control tower, so the officers will have a panoramic view of the entire runway at the airport. In that way they could see if there is any issue with an aircraft when landing and taking off. “
Under the World Bank’s Caribbean Regional Air Transport Connectivity
Project, there will be a component to address much needed barrack room renovations, bringing to the rank and file of the Fire Service much improved working conditions.
Transport Specialist with the World Bank Project Ms. Joana Moody explained that the project is also being implemented in Haiti and Grenada thereby taking a regional approach to improving inter-island connectivity within the Caribbean as well.
“Each of the projects has a slightly different start time, depending on when it was officially declared effective in its implementation by the government. This project began in October of 2020 and is scheduled to close in June of 2027, so we are conducting this mid-term review here on island as the project is underway to understand how the sector policies and strategies around the project may have changed over time, since it was initially prepared.”
CATCOP involves four Caribbean islands namely; Haiti, Grenada, Dominica and St. Lucia. The overall objectives of the project include improving Air Transport Safety through compliance with emerging international standards, enhancing resilience of airport infrastructure to deal with natural disasters, and supporting informed planning of airport infrastructure.