Liat/BWIA merger =91by June=92 Express 04.14.03 BRIDGETOWN=96A merger of two of the region=92s seriously cash-strapped=20 airlines, BWIA and Liat, seems set to become a reality by the end of June.= =20 Indication of the two becoming a single carrier=96a development, long mooted= =20 by some regional governments and airline officials=96came at the conclusion= =20 of two separate meetings in Barbados over the weekend. Prime Minister=20 Patrick Manning was one of four participating Caribbean Community leaders=20 in the meetings but no official statement has been made locally about the=20 planned merger. He flew into Barbados yesterday for the meeting and left=20 later in the day. The first round of meetings in Barbados took place on=20 Friday with an adjournment for inconclusive matters to be considered=20 yesterday by the chief financial advisers of the four participating=20 countries. Both meetings were hosted by Prime Minister Owen Arthur of= Barbados Also participating along with Manning and Arthur were the Prime Ministers=20 of Antigua and Barbuda (Lester Bird, on Friday only); and Ralph Gonsalves=20 of St Vincent and the Grenadines who has lead responsibility among Caricom= =20 heads of government for air transportation. At yesterday=92s meeting Bird= was=20 represented by Deputy Prime Minister Robin Yearwood. But Prime Ministers=20 Manning and Arthur left Prime Minister Gonsalves to brief the media on=20 aspects of their deliberations and decisions. According to Gonsalves, a=20 decision had been reached in principle to transform BWIA and Liat into one= =20 carrier to serve the region. A technical team is to be established shortly,= =20 he said, to submit proposals on =93the appropriate structure for a single=20 carrier=94 and the most effective strategy to determine attainment of that= =20 objective. Prime Minister Gonsalves also disclosed that an agreement was=20 reached on an interim financial package to ensure that Liat which, like=20 BWIA, is faced with a serious debt burden, is kept afloat until the=20 proposed merger plan becomes operational. Reports out of Barbados reaching the Express indicated that Trinidad and=20 Tobago will make available to the shareholder governments of Liat=20 approximately EC$12.5 million. The rescue package will also include EC$4.8= =20 million to be provided by Antigua and Barbuda; EC$3 million by Barbados;=20 EC$2.5 million from St Vincent and the Grenadines and EC$300,000 by=20 Grenada. Prime Minister Manning, who had flown back home from Barbados=20 following the conclusion of Friday=92s meeting and returned in time for the= =20 resumption of yesterday=92s follow-up session, was unavailable last evening= =20 for comment on Trinidad and Tobago=92s involvement in the forthcoming merger= =20 plan of BWIA and Liat. But from indications given following the conclusion= =20 of yesterday=92s meeting in Barbados, the EC$12.5 million from Trinidad and= =20 Tobago to help in the rescue package for Liat will be in the form of a loan= =20 repayable in five years *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************