After years of deliberation, the island of South Caicos in Turks and Caicos is finally on track to get a brand-new airport terminal. 

Turks and Caicos Premier Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson said the airport and combined service building has gotten the green light, with a preferred bidder having been identified, meaning the next step is for a contract to be prepared and executed. 

“This is the best news that I can give the people of South Caicos who recently saw the destruction of the temporary structure lost to fire. A new Airport Terminal for South Caicos has been underway for over a decade and has seen serious challenges with an unfinished controversial structure and more recently the termination of the procurement process in early 2018 due to flaws in the process,” Cartwright-Robinson said. 

Cartwright-Robinson said the new airport terminal would “certainly lift the image of the island as we address day to day challenges of maintaining the island’s natural and man-made environment.”

The project is slated to be completed in 18 months. In the interim, Turks and Caicos will create a temporary facility. 

It will of course be a significant boost for the island of South Caicos, one of the more pristine destinations in the wider region, one that has recently gotten on the travel map thanks to the debut of the Sailrock resort. 

The luxe residential resort just added a pair of new villas to its portfolio.

South Caicos is a 20-minute flight from the “big” island of Providenciales. 

“The Airports Authority has seen an aggressive Capital Program over the past four (4) years and it includes the purchase of fire trucks and modern equipment, repair works to the JAGS McCartney International Airport on Grand Turk, major works to the Salt Cay Aerodrome and Terminal, the Fire Hall in Grand Turk (which is currently under construction and will rebuild a hub for firefighters, having lost their headquarters since Hurricane Ike), an office block for Providenciales staff and we are now soon to commence a combined services building for firefighters and air traffic controllers on Providenciales,” the Premier said. 

The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority is also “in dialogue” on a joint venture proposal for the airport in North Caicos.

— CJ