Grenada vows to keep airport open amid Taiwan loan quarrel

Grenada is seeking to raise funds to keep cash-strapped Maurice Bishop International Airport open, according to Information Minister Glen Noel.

The possibility of operations grinding to a halt hung over the airport after airlines began withholding payments to the authority in keeping with a United States (US) court order that blocks foreign payments to Grenada.

The order taken out in New York by Taiwan seeks to seize funds due to Grenada as compensation for outstanding loans of EC$70 million that St Georges is reluctant to pay.

"The government wishes to make it clear that the financial requirement needed for the operations of the airport will be provided adequately and on a timely basis going forward," Noel said on radio Sunday.

"We have been raising the money to give to the authority to continue the operations."

Government intervention

The airport has, so far, lost US$500,000 in under a month in payments withheld by American Airlines, Delta, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways.

But Noel said the central government will step in to ensure that the airport remains opened.

"It is important to point out that Government recognises that the airport is our gateway to the rest of the world, and it is important for our social and economic development and, therefore, the Government will give the operations at the airport priority," he told the radio station.

"It means that we will make every effort in a prompt and decisive way to ensure that the airport authority is in a financial position to provide all the services needed for the airlines visiting Grenada. We will not allow the airport to grind to a halt," he added.

Grenada's Attorney General Rohan Phillip said St George's is fighting the "strange order" in court.

Phillip said statutory bodies such as the Airport Authority should not be held liable for any loan in the name of the central government.

"The position of the government is that the statutory bodies are separate and distinct entities and should not be subject to a restraining order. We are hoping and we are optimistic that such an application will be successful," he said.

"If it is, it will mean that the funds will now be released and made available to the various statutory bodies that are not now being paid."

Taipei has refused to intervene in the matter, saying its export-import bank was a statutory body, and that it no longer enjoyed diplomatic relations with St George's .

Grenada broke off diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of mainland China in 2005.

Last November, the Grenadian information minister confirmed that under the terms of the US court order, fees payable to the government by cruise lines calling at St George's were being deposited in a special account in the US to satisfy the debt between Grenada and Taiwan.

- CMC