The Honourable Dr. John Collin McIntyre
Dear Investors,
As the Minister responsible for the portfolios of Employment, Trade, Industry and Diaspora Affairs, and being directly responsible for investment facilitation and promotion, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Invest Dominica website.
Honourable Dr. John Collin McIntyre: Minister for Employment, Trade, Industry, & Diaspora Affairs
IDA is an economic development agency of the Government of Dominica established in 2007. It is responsible for attracting, facilitating and sustaining investment for Dominica.
The Government of Dominica through the Invest Dominica Authority (IDA) has committed itself to the development of a broad programme of development activities and invites investors both local and from around the world to examine our investment opportunities and to work with us in profitable and beneficial projects.
Dominica has done a great deal over the last several years to improve the investment climate and to ensure that the conditions for generating economic growth and development exist to the full advantage of all those participating in this new period of prosperity and growth.
We recognize and want to express our thanks to those who have already placed their confidence in Dominica through the investment that they are making in this economy. There are those of you who are in the process of working with us or who intend to consider opportunities in the various sectors, such as tourism and related activities, health and wellness, agri-business, manufacturing, services, information and communications technology, geothermal and other forms of renewable energy exploitation, export of water, among others.
As you browse through our website and later on during your visit to Dominica, you will discover the emerging trends in our quest for socio-economic development in many of the areas and sectors already highlighted above. We can assure you that you will see in these trends the tremendous advances made in building the platform for a renewed period of advancement and for greater level of economic prosperity. We believe that you too can benefit from our successes by taking advantage of investment opportunities on the island.
As an emerging tourist destination, we have developed and are developing the leadership and the quality to become a global leader in nature based tourism. Dubbed the “Nature Island of the Caribbean”, Dominica offers a wide variety of soft adventure and nature based tourism activities, making it one of the most authentic and unique ecotourism destinations in the region.
The island is also on the verge of being one of the foremost islands for the exploitation and development of green industries. Dominica is currently working with various partners in exploring the potential for developing renewable energy sources, particularly geothermal energy. The island has the largest deposits of sulphur, which is critical for the development of geo-thermal energy, as well as having large numbers of rivers for the generation of hydro electrical power.
Dominica played a major role in the liberalization and subsequent advances made in the telecommunications industry in the Caribbean. This has allowed the island to attract significant levels of investments in the sector, making it possible for well over 98 % of the country to have internet access and full microwave and fiber optic coverage.
We have invested heavily in improving air access into the island, as is evident by the more than EC$100 million spent on expansion of the Melville Hall Airport and installation of night landing facility that will give us the capacity to increase airline seats and make it easier to make connections from the hubs into Dominica.
We are also currently spending in excess of EC$200 million on improvements to the road networks throughout the island making travel around the country safer and more secure.
Dominica has also taken a deliberate policy to enhance the quality of its human resources. We have introduced universal secondary education that allows every child over 12 years of age the chance to attend secondary school. We have also established the Dominica State College as the leading tertiary education, providing a high level of education and training to the next generation of workers and professionals.
My Ministry recognizes the importance of the business community and will reflect this when reviewing, revising and developing relevant legislation. And because we know that your investment creates employment and generates foreign exchange earnings, we have simplified the process for the granting of Fiscal Incentives reducing the time frame from 6 weeks to 2 weeks. Further, we are in the process of finalizing a Tourism Incentives Act, which addresses the new and emerging investment opportunities in the Tourism Sector, and will replace the Hotels Aid Act.
I know that your decision to choose Dominica as your preferred investment destination was a well thought out one and I want to say, Thank You. Thank you for your confidence in Dominica, and we will seek to honor this confidence.
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Honourable Dr. John Collin McIntyre
Minister for Employment, Trade, Industry, & Diaspora Affairs
