USTDA Grant Supports the Development of a Regional Air Cargo and Aircraft Maintenance Hub in Trinidad and Tobago
August 11, 2008The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to the Airport Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (AATT). The grant will be used to formulate a strategic development plan for the creation of aircraft maintenance and air cargo facilities at the Piarco International Airport (PIA).
The $390,572 grant was conferred at a signing ceremony held in Port of Spain. The Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy, Leonard Kusnitz, and AATT Chairman John Eckstein signed the grant agreement on behalf of the U.S. Government and AATT, respectively.
Currently, 18 international airlines and 7 cargo carriers that serve 26 international destinations operate out of PIA, which is located 15 miles east of Port of Spain. In addition, the airport is also the primary hub and operating base of Caribbean Airlines, the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago.
As a central part of its responsibility for managing, operating, and maintaining Trinidad and Tobago’s airports, AATT plans to make PIA a major hub for the movement of people and cargo in the Americas. In doing so, AATT anticipates integrating aviation-related services (such as air cargo, warehousing, logistics, and aircraft maintenance and repair) into the overall airport development plan. The development of an aviation service center would accommodate the anticipated continued growth in air cargo volume and would diversify economic activity at the airport. The USTDA grant is expected to support this effort by funding investment analysis related to the development of a new air cargo facility; maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities; an air cargo logistics center; and ancillary facilities in an industrial park near the flight line.
AATT has selected Simat, Helliesen & Eichner, Inc. (SH&E) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, an aviation consulting firm, as the U.S. company that will provide the USTDA-funded assistance. SH&E will provide additional resources toward the completion of the study.
USTDA has supported several other projects in Trinidad and Tobago, such as an LNG upstream production and delivery system feasibility study that was implemented and led to $1.9 billion in U.S. exports.
