Locals could manage Argyle International!
Editor: The sourcing of funds for the construction of the Argyle International Airport must be a challenging and complex task. This comes at a time when traditional allies are no longer willing to fund major projects with grant funds. I have no doubt that the PM is the person who conceptualized and is the main architect in this process.
However, I have difficulty understanding what is so highly complex about managing an – be it International Airport work force, airport cleaning, collecting of landing fees and deciding on the best location for shops. It is necessary to have competent and skilled experts in management positions to ensure efficiency, and profitability. {{more}}In the case of the Argyle International Airport, it seems perfectly elementary that we could train and develop locals to the level of proficiency required.
The Financial Consultant, who is Chairman and CEO of the Argyle International Airport Development Company, will agree that we need strong capacity building and institutional strengthening in this process.
The Airports Department should have been converted to an Airports Authority with competent people at policy and management level. The Argyle International Airport could have been a project managed by an experienced Project Manager. This means that the right people will be identified, trained, developed, and exposed through attachments overseas. By doing this, we will be setting the framework for an efficient body to manage the Argyle International Airport.
I have no doubt, the Malaysians did not become expert at Airport Management overnight. How could we be focusing on training, education and scholarships? We have more than sufficient time to train our own people.
It is obvious that since the Malaysians will be putting equity into the Airport then they need their people to manage it for them to have a guaranteed gain on their investment.
Vincentians must support this Argyle International Airport project! Those negative critics who still believe this is about a politician’s ego must get real.
But let’s do this the right way, train our people to manage this International Airport.
GB
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