Dear Editor,

It is good to see that the idea of building a model modern airport at Vernam Field appears to be finding some traction. Jamaica needs a modern, state-of-the-art airport if it is to be competitive in Caribbean tourism. Most Caribbean airports have been newly upgraded. Puerto Rico has recently transformed the Muñoz Marín International airport. Cuba has recently completed attractive modernisations to the José Martí airport in Havana. The Dominican Republic has a very good airport, as do Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia. Building a new, modern airport at Vernam Field would simply be bringing Jamaica up to the standards of its regional competitors. Vernam Field is an excellent location and should be more feasible than any other site since the government owns most of the land. But far more is required than merely building yet another airport on the island.

The new airport should be an integral part of a comprehensive plan to create an engine of economic growth for the island. Such a design therefore should provide facilities for passengers, cargo and the most sophisticated aircraft repair. That means there should be a minimum of three sturdy runways with one at least 16,000 feet capable of accommodating the largest and heaviest aircraft likely to be built in the next 50 years.

But it would be awfully shortsighted merely to focus on an airport. The airport should be connected to a freeport zone and nearby port facilities by convenient rail and road links. With a newly widened Panama Canal scheduled for operation in 2014, the aim should be to make Vernam Field a part of the international movement of cargo connected with the super-sized vessels transiting that waterway.

Finally, the complex should have a technical university to train the skilled workers as well as a modern international research and training hospital good enough and large enough to attract clients from around the world. Vernam Field could become a successful new city geared to regional and world transportation, but with backward and forward linkages that promote sustainable economic development. If the government is serious about economic development then it should be discussing a plan for Vernam Field all across the island.

David Harvey

Kingston