The senior project officer, Customs and Trade Policy at the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Bernard Black, is urging the St. Lucia government to transform Hewanorra International Airport (HIA) to an efficient air cargo distribution hub in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean (OECS) member countries.
The OECS members and territories comprise Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands as well as the French-islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. In a concept note, a copy of which has been obtained by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Black the project seeks to speed up delivery of air cargo to destinations within the OECS members and territories and the wider Caribbean.
He said the objective of this project is to improve inbound and outbound logistics for air cargo within, into, and from the Caribbean and the ultimate goals is to establish a single regional air cargo hub at the HIA that will receive air cargo from all countries for redistribution to various Caribbean destinations.
He said when the hub is established the main activities will be to seek International Air Transport Association (AITA) endorsement for Hewanorra International Airport as an international air cargo hub as well as establish a private management company to manage the facility’s affairs.
Black said it would also allow for the construction of a special cargo terminal into and from which, aircraft can discharge and load cargo, secure a fleet of aircraft to distribute cargo to OECS and other Caribbean destinations and recruit and train employees to manage the operation.
Black said that under the current situation, trade in the Caribbean is primarily served by shipping carriers that ply north to south routes between Florida in the United States and Guyana.
He said during the 1970s and 1980s inter island trade amongst OECS States was primarily facilitated by schooners that facilitated imports from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, but with the modernisation of seaports in the OECS to containerized cargo, the schooner trade is no longer feasible.
Black said that there are increased volumes of OECS imports generated from online shopping and door-to-door deliver and the economic impact of e-commerce resulting from the combined activities of international courier brands and non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) increases each year.
‘Despite Barbados’ high inbound air traffic activity, there is limited space for expansion near its already busy airport. HIA has access to over 100 acres of undeveloped land next to its runway, on which a modern cargo handling terminal can be built.,’ he said, giving reasons why St. Lucia should be chosen for an efficient air cargo distribution hub in the OECS.
He said that the island is located roughly midway the eastern Caribbean chain, ideal for short distance air cargo voyages to OECS countries.
He argues that the OECS could benefit economically from the venture, noting that each year Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago import large volumes of fresh food from extra-regional countries.
‘Over the past five years Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have had a combined annual food import bill of at least US$700 million. The majority of OECS States are located within a 200-mile radius of Barbados and within a 500 mile radius of Trinidad and Tobago. Given their agriculture based economies, banana export experiences and close proximity, OECS countries can sustain reliable daily supplies of fresh produce to these two targeted countries.’
Black said that with the collapse of its banana industry, OECS countries are experiencing an exodus of persons from profitable farming, resulting in many farm holdings being unproductive with farmers not having the collective bargaining power to negotiate new export market access arrangements.
‘With the renewed prospect of new markets, a cargo hub in the OECS will trigger the resuscitation of farms to produce alternative high value crops and value-added products for regional export.’
Black said that there is an urgent need for a quicker and more predictable distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment in the OECS, noting that there are less than 10 regional suppliers of pharmaceuticals, based in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados, ‘non of which can guarantee same day dispatch and delivery of such goods to any OECS country. A St. Lucia based cargo hub can significantly reduce their clearance times’.
Black believes that a public/private management company is best placed to manage the facility’s affairs during the first five years of operation and that from the sixth year it can operate as a full private entity and listed on the OECS stock exchange to raise equity capital to boost its financial independence.
He is also arguing that the company could lease a fleet of six ATR 72 aircraft for one year to distribute cargo to OECS and other Caribbean destinations as well as acquire an information system to manage the movement of goods through the hub.
Black believes that there are opportunities for the sub-region, noting that the Caribbean’s courier trade is growing at a rapid pace and online sales companies like Amazon are responding to this trend.
‘In anticipation of sales in certain regions and to reduce delivery times, Amazon has set up a regional distribution centre in the Dominican Republic to target the eastern Caribbean. Similarly, a facility can be set up in St. Lucia.
‘The larger Caribbean suppliers in Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Belize can use the warehouse spaces at the cargo hub to store and distribute urgently needed stock in other Caribbean countries.’
He said that St. Lucia’s southern region can be transformed to an industrial support zone, taking advantage of large quantities of available lands, adding ‘there is a need to re-engage the Southern Free Zone that was initially set up for the purpose of manufacturing and easy export.
‘Angel investors that rely on a reliable distribution networks will appreciate the cargo hub as good location to conduct business. Businesses engaged in activities such as specialised machinery, information and technology, auto parts, tyres, security systems, specialized foods and pharmaceuticals can establish themselves in proximity to the cargo hub, rather than have multiple locations in several Caribbean States,’ Black said.