St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Infrastructure, power, and
communications The infrastructure of Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines is not fully developed, although recent government
initiatives have involved improvements in roads, port
facilities, and hospitals. Of 1,040 kilometers (646 miles) of
roads only 320 kilometers (199 miles) were paved in 1996. Roads
in rural areas, particularly in the north of Saint Vincent, are
often poor. There are no railways, and the single international
airport, near Kingstown, is unable to receive wide-bodied jets.
Discussions have taken place with potential foreign investors
concerning the runway's extension, while opponents of this
scheme favor a new airport. Lack of infrastructure has hampered
the growth of tourism, even though the government has recently
invested in a cruise ship jetty (landing wharf) at Kingstown as
well as an airport on Canouan. Small farmers also complain that
poor roads are an obstacle to transporting fragile commodities
such as bananas to dock or to in