{"id":129158,"date":"2021-05-18T08:12:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T12:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=129158"},"modified":"2021-05-18T08:12:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T12:12:15","slug":"lovell-welcomes-commission-of-inquiry-into-airport-runway-loan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/lovell-welcomes-commission-of-inquiry-into-airport-runway-loan\/","title":{"rendered":"Lovell welcomes commission of inquiry into airport runway loan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A seemingly unperturbed UPP party leader Harold Lovell says he is ready for the fight, following an announcement by Prime Minister Gaston Browne that a probe will be carried out into a US$94 million loan given to the former UPP administration.<\/p>

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Browne said over the weekend that the Cabinet had agreed that a forensic audit into money loaned to extend the runway at VC Bird International Airport should be conducted \u2013 followed by a commission of inquiry \u2013 to \u201cput people like Harold Lovell on the stand\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a politically motivated pappyshow,\u201d Lovell told Observer yesterday, questioning why the matter is of interest seven years after the UPP left office.<\/p>

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\u201cWhy now, after seven years in government? What about the e-books scandal? The Odebrecht scandal? The Long Bay land deal scandal?\u201d Lovell questioned, citing a number of other deals struck by the government which he claims are questionable, including land allegedly sold for far below its value in Pointe, and an apparently dubious land swap in Friars Hill Road.<\/p>

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\u201cBut if this is how he intends to use taxpayers\u2019 money, bring it on,\u201d Lovell added.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the prime minister has insisted that the price tag to extend the runway was excessive.<\/p>

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The prime minister has called on Lovell to provide an explanation for the cost compared to the scope of the works, a demand that has been ignored.<\/p>\n

The loan was received from Credit Suisse bank in Brazil in 2012 to extend the airport runway by 1,000 linear feet. Browne claims the project\u2019s cost had doubled from its initial estimate of US$46 million.<\/p>

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The PM says that what the former UPP government spent on the runway extension and lighting was equivalent to the cost of a brand new airport terminal.-DAILY OBSERVER<\/strong><\/p>

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A seemingly unperturbed UPP party leader Harold Lovell says he is ready for the fight, following an announcement by Prime Minister Gaston Browne that a probe will be carried out into a US$94 million loan given to the former UPP administration. Browne said over the weekend that the Cabinet had agreed that a forensic audit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nLovell welcomes commission of inquiry into airport runway loan - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/lovell-welcomes-commission-of-inquiry-into-airport-runway-loan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lovell welcomes commission of inquiry into airport runway loan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A seemingly unperturbed UPP party leader Harold Lovell says he is ready for the fight, following an announcement by Prime Minister Gaston Browne that a probe will be carried out into a US$94 million loan given to the former UPP administration. 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