Above: Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport in Vieques (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla this week announced a plan to develop the territory’s regional airports.

The initiative will have a private investment of $25 million, Padilla said, supplemented with a contribution of about $13 million in state and federal funding.

The projects across Puerto Rico’s regional airport network could create 200 service jobs and 400 jobs during construction, he said.

Padilla said the initiative would “increase the contribution of all our regional airports toward the goal of creating jobs and establishing the conditions for sustainable economic development.”

It will also “contribute to the strengthening of local and international tourism,” the governor said.

Part of the master plan includes a new management, storage and air cargo distribution centre at the Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, according to Padilla.

Vieques’ Antonio Rivera Rodriguez airport will also see a project to allow around 50 craftsmen and artists from the island to exhibit and sell their products at the airport.

A private company will also be building an executive passenger terminal at the Fernando Ribas Dominicci airport in Isla Grande, and Ponce’s Mercadita Airport will be installing equipment to soften the propulsion impact of jets taking off, among other projects.

“The Ports Authority is undergoing the greatest transformation in its history, and the alrgest plan that includes development and revitalization of our regional airports,” Padilla said.

Padilla also pointed to Culebra’s airport, which will soon receive daily flights on Cape Air.