To enable the Bahamas to better comply with heightened international aviation standards, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has awarded a $450,000 grant for new security enhancements at Bahamian airports, the Minister of State for Finance announced yesterday.
Addressing the press during the signing of the necessary contracts at the offices of the Airport Authority, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin said “this agreement is being executed at a very critical time for the Bahamas, where with 28 airports, 16 of which are ports of entry, we are obliged to meet international standards as it relates to security systems at aerodromes.”
The grant, totalling $650,000, $450,000 of which is from the IDB and $200,000 from the country’s own resources, is intended for training of personnel, regulatory strengthening of security, and procurement of security equipment.
Minister of State for Finance James Smith said that after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in the US, the world became “very sensitive of the heightened security that needs to take place at airports and ports throughout this hemisphere,” and that the IDB in recognising this, “made a facility available for its members, of which the Bahamas is one,” to secure grants for security upgrade projects.
By KARIN HERIG, Tribune Staff Reporter
