Original title
Realising the benefits of St Helena Airport: a progress update
Language: English
Audit Description
St Helena, together with Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha, form one of the UK’s 14 overseas territories. St Helena is self-governing and autonomous as set out in its constitution. The UK government’s long-standing policy is to meet the reasonable assistance needs of the UK’s overseas territories, where financial self-sufficiency is not possible. The Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Office (FCDO) provides financial and technical assistance to four of the UK’s overseas territories that are eligible for overseas development assistance, which includes St Helena. FCDO’s long-term aim is to help those territories achieve sustainable growth and financial independence from the UK. In 2011, FCDO entered into a £285.5 million contract with a South African company, Basil Read, to design and construct an airport and associated infrastructure, including a replacement fuel depot (the bulk fuel installation), on St Helena, and then operate it for the first 10 years. The construction of the airport was completed in 2016 and, after a delay while the impact of difficult wind conditions on landing aircraft safely was assessed, it opened to commercial flights in October 2017. The annual amount of aid the St Helena Government receives from the UK government is based on FCDO’s assessment of “reasonable assistance needs”. The St Helena Government received £37.8 million in aid from the UK government in 2023-24. In its business case for the airport, FCDO expected that the airport would significantly increase tourism to St Helena, increasing the island’s self-generated income so that St Helena would eventually become more financially self-sufficient and no longer require financial aid from the UK government by 2043.
Documentation
Audit report
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https://www.nao.org.uk/