NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (July 09, 2025) - Premier the Honourable Mark Brantley has provided an update on the major infrastructure project to expand the Vance W. Amory International Airport, announcing that the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) is preparing to begin payments to landowners whose properties fall within the designated area for acquisition.
“We’re at a stage now where we are seeking to draw down funds from the [St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla] National Bank to pay landowners,” Premier Brantley stated. “We have written to the National Bank requesting that we have the initial tranche of funds [in May] and so we are optimistic that we’ll be in a position to start to pay the landowners.”
He confirmed that the legal groundwork for the project had been completed, noting that it was now simply a matter of transferring the funds and ensuring that the Administration obtained title to the land.
“Once we have that, then the intention is to proceed with some alacrity to securing the property and then to start declaring work for purposes of this project.”
Premier Brantley, who serves as Minister of Finance and Tourism in the NIA, explained that the airport expansion project is structured in three parts: land-side improvements, air-side upgrades, and land acquisition.
“This project is being done in various parts. The land side of the project- that is, the terminal expansion and improvement, the fire hall expansion and improvement, the tower improvement, and the realignment of the island main road- all of that is being undertaken by the NIA. Put differently, it is for the NIA to find the resources to deal with that aspect of it.”
He explained that the air side of the project, which includes the runway extension, the establishment of a fuel farm to facilitate the sale of jet fuel, and other critical upgrades such as lighting and emergency systems, as well as the strengthening of the existing runway to accommodate larger aircraft, is being handled through a financing facility that the NIA is close to finalizing with Mr. Patrick Drahi and his companies. He noted that negotiations have been ongoing for several months and expressed confidence that the arrangement is now nearing completion.
The Premier emphasized that land acquisition has been handled through an arrangement with the Federal Government.
“We have not compulsorily acquired any lands in the area. We have negotiated with landowners and come to agreed pricing,” he said. “That land acquisition is being funded to the tune of US $7.5 million through a loan from the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank. That loan is guaranteed by the Federal Government and is being repaid through an arrangement with the Federal Government.”
With an estimated total cost of approximately US $40 million, the expansion of the Vance W. Amory International Airport is expected to boost local employment during construction and create additional jobs within the airport, in line with projected increases in air traffic and the arrival of larger aircraft.
“So we are very close, and I think that we’ll be in a position to move very shortly,” Premier Brantley concluded.
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