fp Turks and Caicos

Some residents living on Chalk Sound were alarmed recently when they gazed across the iridescent waters to see a large trench leading down from the end of the Providenciales International Airport runway extension toward the pristine waters.

But Turks and Caicos Islands Airport Authority CEO John T. Smith told the fp that the trench will not dump runoff into the sound in the National Park.
“No, we’re not draining directly into Chalk Sound,” Smith said. “That is unthinkable.”

The trench ends 30 metres from the shoreline and has filter points and traps to clean the water, Smith said.

“It’s designed to take a five-year or 15-year storm,” he said. “That is the design criteria. All of the stuff that comes off the apron is actually filtered.”

“It’s been designed very well with all those things in mind,” he said.

“It’s all environmentally sound and has the approval of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR),” Smith said. “We’ve had a series of meetings with them, and they haven’t dropped the ball on it.

“Actually, they are here, they meet, they do regular site inspections, they make their comments, they make their recommendations, they insist on certain things as well that we have to do.”

The first phase of the airport expansion project is extending the runway from its current 7,600 feet to a length of 9,200 feet. The extension is expected to facilitate new long-haul flights from Europe and Asia to the TCI, allowing for planes such as the Boeing 777 and 747 to land at the airport.

“We need the airport, but we also cannot damage our environment,” Smith said, and that the TCIAA is working with DECR. “We’re doing exactly as they say.”

Smith encouraged anyone with concerns about the expansion project to contact the authority.

The authority’s website, www.tciairports.com, has details and pictures of the $36.4 million project that has been touted for providing jobs and training for local workers and bolstering tourism.