BIDC continues to ash fall cleanup across estates

Barbados: Following the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent and subsequent ashfall across Barbados, the BIDC has been coordinating and supervising the clean-up of its industrial estates, the government of Barbados reported.

As one of the more prominent property owners of the Barbados government, the demands are significant, and a committee has been instituted to manage the coordination of the clean-up.

In the two weeks since the first ashfall, BIDC has coordinated the cleaning of its industrial estates, engaging existing and external cleaners to safely clear ash.

Persons from various communities have offered additional human resources with over 400 bags of ash collected thus far. Tenants are being engaged in a systematic way to facilitate coordination and scheduling of cleaning support.

The clean-up effort encompasses roadways, sidewalks, car parks and buildings. Roofs and gutters are excluded at this time for safety reasons.

Moreover, After the week-long closure of Grantley Adams Airport due to the ash fall from La Soufrière volcano in St Vincent, the first plane that arrived was a JetBlue airplane from Boston, accompanied by an American Airlines flight from Charlette and Miami and British Airways flights from London and Antigua.

Barbados’s PM Mia Mottley declared a massive cleanup of the operational states, passenger facilities and roadways commencing to the Airport terminal. 

Major construction businesses and clean up crews worked on the cleanup operation, which covered every airport area, from air traffic control facilities to runways, communications equipment and arrival and departure areas. 

On this, Lisa Cummins, Barbados’s Minister of Tourism and International Transport, stated,- “The return of flights to Barbados is not only vital to the economy of Barbados but also crucial to humanitarian actions in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

Prime Minister of St Vincent & Grenadines -Ralph Gonsalves, requested the United-Nations Security Council for relief support and to help the nation with the recovery works.