="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">After a long period
of rumour and consultation, the British government announced plans to construct
an
airport in Saint Helena
in March 2005 and the airport was
originally expected to be completed by 2010. However constant delays by the
British government meant an approved bidder, the Italian firm
Impregilo, was not chosen until 2008,
and then the project was put on hold in November 2008, allegedly due to new
financial pressures brought on by the
credit-crunch.
By January 2009, construction had not commenced and no final contracts had been
signed, and Governor Andrew Gurr departed for London in an attempt to speed up
the process and solve the problems. On 22 July 2010, the British government
agreed to help pay for the new airstrip using taxpayer money.
In November 2011 a new deal between
the British government and South African company Basil Read was signed and now
means the airport is proposed to open in 2015, with flights to and from South
Africa.
A minibus offers a
basic service to carry people around Saint Helena, with most services designed
to take people into Jamestown for a few hours on weekdays to conduct their
business