Suriname to Improve its Air Transport Sector with More Safety and Connectivity with IDB Support

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a US$25 million program to improve Suriname´s air transportation sector, increasing its safety and connectivity.

The program approved by the IDB's Board of Executive Directors will support actions to improve compliance with international civil aviation safety and security standards and increase the quality and resilience of air transport infrastructure.

It will benefit approximately 465,000 air passengers per year, including inhabitants of Amerindian and Maroon communities, with better and reliable access to isolated regions, improved safety conditions for operations, reduced time and cost of cargo and passengers transporting, and access to health services. The entire population of the Amerindian Village of Kwamalasamutu, composed of 1,308 inhabitants, will benefit from this program.

Women, people with disabilities, and the Amerindian population will also benefit from improved delivery of essential services, such as education and health care, and expanded employment opportunities.

In addition, the program will invest in air navigation, communications equipment and digital technology for several airfields under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation, Communications and Tourism, thereby improving connectivity and safety, which will benefit Maroon and Amerindian communities, and private sector development in the country's interior.

The operation plans to implement targeted interventions at Paramaribo international airport, improvements to the Zorg en Hoop domestic hub landside facilities and navigation equipment, and a pilot intervention to modernize the Kwamalasamutu aerodrome to support all-weather operations.

It will also finance measures to improve the sector's institutional and legal framework, including restructuring and strengthening of the civil aviation system, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority´s regulatory capacity and sustainability policies, and gender and diversity measures.

Moreover, it will contribute to strengthening air transport control and operations with measures to enhance air navigation capacity, efficiency and surveillance, establish an independent Air Accident Investigation Authority, and to define a new international standard-based fee structure and collection mechanism.

The US$25 million IDB loan has a 23.5-year repayment term, a 7-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).