Britain could help the Virgin Islands government finally deliver on its controversial plan to move ahead with a major airport expansion on Beef Island, Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley told the Beacon this week.
Speaking after a three-day visit to London to discuss tourism “opportunities and partnerships,” the premier said Monday that he is “hopeful” of UK involvement in the infrastructural upgrade of the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport.
The comments came after Baroness Margaret Hodge, Britain’s anti-corruption champion, used a trip to the territory last week to signal possible UK support for the government’s plan to extend the airport’s runway from 4,646 feet to up to 7,000 feet.
“We are pleased she is supportive of the airport expansion, and we are hopeful the UK government does all in their power to assist the Virgin Islands in this endeavour,” Mr. Wheatley told the Beacon on Monday after returning from his trip to London with Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer.
Pressed on the options for British support and whether they may include a loan guarantee for the project, the premier stayed tight-lipped.
“We expect to hear from them soon,” he said.
Previous iterations of the proposed expansion, which would be the VI’s largest-ever capital project, have drawn bids ranging from $150 million to $400 million in tender processes that launched and deadended over the past 15 years.
Hodge’s visit
Lady Hodge said last week during her three-day visit to the territory, which mainly focused on fiscal-transparency issues, that the main way for the VI economy to reduce its reliance on finance is to build up its tourism industry.
“We are talking about, perhaps, how we could support the government in trying to find funding for the runway,” she said during a Sept. 24 meeting with the media that lasted less than 15 minutes.
Lady Hodge also talked up the potential for the VI’s tourism industry to grow rapidly.
“I am stunned by the beauty of the islands, and I think it’s got massive potential in all sorts of ways,” she said, adding that tourism is “the one thing that would really help you.”
Noting that it took 17 hours for her to fly from London to Tortola, the senior Labour Party grandee said an expanded airport could dramatically cut down flight times.
“Just think about it: eight, nine hours direct flights,” she said. “Put in a runway, it is a long flight.”
Lady Hodge added that the move would help the territory broaden its economic base.
“Building your tourism economy is just so obvious,” she said. “The economy should be diversified. What you want is more people to stay here overnight and spend their money.”
Controversy
However, major question marks remain over the details of the proposed airport expansion, which has been the subject of heated debate since it was proposed nearly 15 years ago by then-premier Dr. Orlando Smith’s administration.
Dr. Smith and his successors — including Mr. Wheatley — have argued that a major airport expansion is needed to attract larger aircraft that can foster direct connections to the United States mainland and beyond.
But opponents have questioned whether the expansion would bring the direct flights that VI leaders envisage. Critics have also claimed that the project could damage the existing tourism product by bringing in more people than the territory can handle, in addition to creating environmental issues.
But without a comprehensive business case in the public domain — and without a national plan to guide tourism decisions — both sides have relied largely on speculation to make their arguments. A business case is now in the works, but leaders have refused to publish the completed parts of it even as they cite them as justification for moving ahead with the project.
Business case kept secret
The study stretches back to February 2024, when officials announced that consultant KPMG (BVI) Limited had received a $209,089 contract to carry out a five-part business case on the expansion after it beat out seven other companies in a tender process.
At the time, officials said the study would be designed to meet the government’s obligations under a 2012 agreement the VI signed with the UK to promote fiscal stability and transparency.
That agreement — the Protocols for Effective Financial Management — requires government to complete and publish a business case and “robust” cost-benefit analysis before the procurement stage of any major capital project.
When the KPMG contract was announced in February 2024, the BVI Airports Authority said the business case should be complete in three months. But that didn’t happen as planned.
Last November, officials announced the completion of a “Strategic Outline Case” they described as the first part of the five-part business case. But they did not release it, explaining that the business case would be released when it is fully completed.
In May, the secrecy continued after officials announced the completion of the second part of the study, called the “Outline Business Case” — and refused to release it too.
Nevertheless, Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer (R-D5) announced in May that the government is likely to follow a business-case recommendation to proceed with a public-private partnership that could see construction start in 2027 and finish in 2032.
“The economic rationale for this project has been meticulously evaluated,” Mr. Rymer said at the time. “The Outline Business Case confirms that the preferred option, which includes extending the runway and expanding the apron, offers the most favourable economic return among the shortlisted alternatives.”
Mr. Rymer also said in May that the Outline Business Case was not a final investment decision but a step toward securing Cabinet approval to proceed.
For the next steps, he said at the time, Cabinet would need to greenlight the procurement of a development partner and provide a “notional commitment” to “future funding phases.”
Then the government would need to secure the necessary approvals from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office under the territory’s fiscal governance framework, according to the minister.
“Upon receiving these approvals, the next milestones will include finalisation of the airport master plan; completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment and other regulatory clearances; issuance of the request for proposals; and submission of the full business case,” Mr. Rymer said in May.
