The Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA), officially closed the curtains of its inaugural Port Showcase on Sep. 25, at the Harbour Club Hotel, official home of SLASPA Port Showcase.

Under the theme “The Promenade of Port Connectivity” the event was the first of its kind for SLASPA, Saint Lucia and the region. The historic event aimed to promote community, connectivity and convergence; build relationships with customers, partners and stakeholders within the air and sea port community; and inspire students and aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue air and seaport related careers and avenues.

Port Showcase saw enlightening panel discussions with 15 featured speakers ranging from tourism specialists, industry executives, management specialists and aviation industry leaders who brought talks that extended from Saint Lucia’s Cruise Tourism Industry, creating a Safer Environment, Operating a Multi-Use Port, Air Cargo Services and Master planning of the new Hewanorra International Airport.

During his closing address, General Manager at SLASPA, Daren Cenac expressed appreciation to stakeholders, partners, sponsors and employees of SLASPA for their commitment in realizing the success of the event.

“This showcase created an avenue where players within the port community in addition to participating in discourse, underlined achievements, displayed products and highlighted their contribution to Saint Lucia,” he said.

Senior Manager Business Development and Corporate Communications at SLASPA, Gasper George, said: “SLASPA, being a statutory arm of the government with the unique and dynamic responsibility and oversight in terms of operations and in some cases where maritime affairs is concerned, regulatory oversight, is imperative to transform the way SLASPA integrates with its partners and stakeholders. The Authority, recognizing the value in its stakeholders, partners, customers and the public in understanding that a broader industry exist for which they are part of, was one of the paramount aims of an initiative like port showcase.

“SLASPA has embarked on some very interesting projects from the policy directives of the Government of Saint Lucia, one of them being the Hewanorra International Airport Redevelopment Project. The Authority will continue to seek other areas to improve efficiencies and also our customer experience,” he added.