Page 61

Here's an interesting story about the new airport from page 2

[newspaper type article]
ST BARTH WEEKLY No 31 page 2

Saint Barth gets a face lift
[architect type drawing]
Architect plans for
the futur harbour master offices.

[left column]
The 2004-2005 season
is now underway in
Saint Barth, and the
island is looking pretty spiffy.
After being closed for six
weeks, from September 6
through October 15, the air-
port now boasts an improved
runway. More than 3000
cubic meters of concrete were
poured over the old runway
that dates back to the original
construction of the airport. Its
length, 650 meters or just
over 2100 feet, has not chan-
ged. However, its width was
increased from 15 meters to
18 meters, or 50 ft to 60 ft.
But that's not all: a night ligh-
ting system was also installed
(...very pretty to see if you get
the chance). The lights are
used primarily for medical
evacuations at night as all air
traffic still stops 15 minutes
after sunset. The general avia-
tion parking area was paved
and made larger in order to
accommodate more private
planes. The area for commer-
cial airline parking was also
enlarged by 2000 square
meters. Not only does it have

[middle column]
a new allure, but the Gustaf
airport of Saint-Barth also
registered a 10% increase in
air traffic during the second
quarter of 2004, compared to
the same period in 2003.

And at the port...
The airport is not the only spot
on the island getting a face lift.
The harbor master's office for
the Port of Gustavia was com-
pletely razed at the beginning
of the summer. The new com-
plex (which will include a
covered outdoor stage and
yacht club facilities) should be
open for business by the fall of
2005. Why so long? To gua-
rantee some peace and quiet
for the numerous passengers
aboard the many yachts that
come to Saint-Barth for the
holiday season, construction
will be put on hold as of
December 15, 2004.

Work on the pipelines
Another phase of renovation
underway on the island is the
improvement of the water
system. The municipality, re-
ponsible for projects of this

[right column]
kind, with major funding
from Europe, took advantage
of the airport closing to enlar-
ge the pipes that carry water
between the Match supermar-
ket and the bridge near the
Eden Rock hotel. The advan-
tage? Larger pipes mean a
better distribution of water to
those located at the far end of
the pipelines, and in theory,
they should not lack water
during periods of high
demand. In Gustavia, rue
Schoelcher and the street
along the waterfront have had
a complete face lift: electric
and telephone lines have been
put underground, water pipes
have been enlarged, and a
new drainage system was put
in. The new drainage system,
that replaces individual sys-
tems that were less efficient,
will be linked to a water treat-
ment plant that will be built
where the basketball court is
now located in Gustavia. A
new basketball court will be
built on a piece of land,
across from the Catholic
Church, that the municipality
is in the process of acquiring.