On Monday 2nd October, 2023, the Honourable Acting Premier, Mr. Haydn Hughes, unveiled a model of the new Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport during the biweekly Government Press Conference.
Mr. Hughes praised the efforts of the Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ellis Webster, who had lobbied assiduously with the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office for funding for the development of the new airport facility. At the time of the unveiling, however, Dr. Webster was engaged overseas at the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Ghana. He spoke via video recording about the presentation of the renderings.
“It is truly a pleasure to talk about the new Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport,” he said. “You will see from the renderings that this facility is a beautiful edifice that Anguilla is deserving of. The way the structure is designed and the improvements shown will certainly be fit for purpose. The new Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport will be the envy of the Caribbean.”
“This new airport will attract more passengers as visitors to Anguilla,” Dr. Webster said, “and we know that it will provide the greatest economic benefit for the island.”
Dr. Webster ascertained that funding for the new airport facility is a combination of funding from the UK Government of up to 12 Million pounds, along with the Government of Anguilla’s own amassed reserves which will pay for most of the project, and which will, in the future, contribute to the expansion of the runway.
“The 12 Million pounds was committed to by Minister Amanda Milling of the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and confirmed by Lord Zack Goldsmith,” he said. The total cost of the new Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport will be EC$270 million.
“This airport terminal is efficient, and it was designed by Anguillians… We are indeed looking forward to its construction and its eventual opening. Then, we will be letting the world know that Anguilla welcomes them through this great facility. ‘Lose the crowd; find yourself,’” he quoted from one tourism promotional tagline.
Before the renderings were shown, Minister Hughes said: “It gives me great pleasure to be unveiling the Anguilla Re-imagined plans for the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport terminal. For almost fifty years, the idea of a commercial international airport that can accommodate flights from the United States of America, Canada, Latin America and further afield, was just a talking point.”
“The vision of the Honourable James Ronald Webster and the dying wish of the Honourable Hubert Benjamin Hughes to bring about this sort of development that could propel the kind of economic activity that would make Anguilla an economic giant among the rest of the Caribbean are now being manifested,” he said. “This is the promise of a new Anguilla.”
“On July 4th, 2010, Former Minister of Infrastructure and Communication, Mr. Evan Gumbs, renamed the airport after aviation pioneer, the late Clayton J. Lloyd,” Minister Hughes said. “And, today, I stand proudly with humility to state that the next chapter of Anguilla’s development is here.”
“We meant it when we said, ‘change could not wait’,” Minister Hughes reflected. “And the prosperity and resilience that would make our people prosperous and resilient for generation to come is here…”
Work on the new airport terminal facility will begin on January 2nd, 2024.Meanwhile work on the airport cargo facility will be commencing early November, and work on the airport extension will commence in the first quarter of 2025.
