CNG Exclusive Interview
ROSEAU, Dominica – Dominica embarked on a significant undertaking to rebuild communities into stronger, more resilient ones following the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Maria. MMC Development Ltd., played a vital role in this national undertaking, making substantial contributions to the country’s “build back better” vision. They’ve done this through a range of civil projects, from housing and healthcare to education and vital infrastructure.
We sat with Cal Murad, Project Director of MMC Development Ltd., to learn more about the company’s achievements, ongoing projects, and the challenges ahead.
Q: When did MMC Development Ltd., start working on rebuilding Dominica, and how big was the job?
A: Bellevue Chopin was where MMC had its start. After Tropical Storm Erika wreaked havoc on Petite Savanne, the directive was to build climate-resilient homes, and to do it quickly without cutting corners. Bellevue Chopin proved that those two things were not in conflict. It became the template for everything that followed.
Q: Can you walk us further through the journey and key accomplishments in housing?
A: After Bellevue Chopin and as we were hit with Hurricane Maria, we moved to the East Coast building projects for the communities of Castle Bruce, La Plaine, Delices, Grand Fond, and San Sauveur. Simultaneously, we started developing Cotton Hill and Georgetown. We also delivered projects in Grand Bay, Jimmit, Stockfarm, Upper Riverbank, and Joe Burton. All those projects have been completed and delivered between 2018 to 2022.
Housing developments in Scotts Head and Eggleston have been handed over to the Government of Dominica recently.
To date, more than 2,500 families no longer have to fear the next storm from inside a damaged structure. That is not a statistic — that is the entire reason we are here.
Q: What projects are currently under active progress?
A: As of March 2026, we’re steadily moving forward with several projects. These include Grand Bay Ville, Woodford Hill, Pointe Michel, Penville, Vieille Case, Paix Bouche, Canefield, and Trafalgar. The projects are at various stages, yet we’re keeping up a strong pace. Quality and resilience continue to be our top priorities in construction.
We anticipate the completion and handing over of the remaining projects by Q2 of this year, marking the total handover of all projects.
Q: MMC’s contribution in Dominica extends beyond the housing programme. Can you speak about the other developments?
A: Housing gets the most attention — and rightly so, because shelter is the most immediate human need. But the Build Back Better mandate is much broader than that. Erika and Maria destroyed clinics, schools, community centres, roads, and bridges. A community is not truly rebuilt until its social infrastructure is restored alongside its homes.
Our teams have been involved in that fuller reconstruction effort — healthcare facilities where Dominican families can access medical care without travelling hours on damaged roads, educational facilities where children can learn in safe, storm-resilient environments, and road and drainage works that give rebuilt communities the connectivity they need to function. You cannot hand someone a new home and tell them the clinic is still a ruin. The programme had to be holistic, and that is how we approached it.
Q: Let us turn to the airport. Why is this project so significant for Dominica’s future?
A: The airport is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the Eastern Caribbean. Dominica has never had an international airport, and this project would be genuinely historic by opening the island to direct international flights and transforming its economic future. We have invested enormous resources: machinery, personnel, technical expertise, and years of on-the-groundwork. Our teams have accomplished remarkable things on that site despite Dominica’s challenging mountainous terrain.
Q: The project has been described as technically extraordinary. What are the engineering challenges of building an international airport in Dominica?
A: This is among the most technically demanding construction projects anywhere in the Caribbean — possibly in the region’s modern history. Dominica is a mountainous island with extremely limited flat land. An airport requires precisely level, stable ground over a substantial footprint. That means enormous earthworks — cutting into hillsides, filling valleys, and engineering drainage systems capable of handling the tropical rainfall Dominica receives.
The seismic environment adds another layer of complexity to foundation design. And all of this must be delivered to a location remote from global supply chains, requiring meticulous logistics planning for every piece of plant and every tonne of material. Our teams are doing remarkable engineering work. The challenge has never been our capability — it is the conditions under which we are being asked to operate.
Q: Are there other challenges being faced for the project?
A: I will be direct, because this is too important to be vague about. MMC Development Ltd has initiated formal arbitration proceedings against the Government of Dominica. This is not a decision we made lightly — arbitration is the last resort, and our arrival here reflects the seriousness of the issues at hand.
The dispute centers on compliance with project conditions that have not been fulfilled in accordance with our agreement. MMC Development Ltd., has committed enormous resources to this project, such as financial resources, personnel, and the opportunity cost, as we solely focused on this significant project.
We are under contractual obligations to perform and deliver. Equally, we expect a reciprocal adherence by the government. When those commitments are not honoured, a developer has both the legal right and the professional obligation to seek a remedy through the proper channels.
Q: The question many Dominicans will be asking: Could this arbitration result in the suspension of the airport project?
A: That is the gravest possible outcome, and it is emphatically not the outcome we desire. We are fully conscious of what suspension would mean for everyone, including MMCD as well the country. I hope that it does not come to that. I am hopeful that we will see an amicable resolution to the current dispute.
The interview ends, but the uncertainty does not. Somewhere on a hillside in Dominica, earthmovers are still turning soil for an airport that will transform the lives of Dominicans for generations to come.
The post Rebuilding a Nation: MMCD’s Expanding Footprint in Dominica appeared first on Caribbean News Global.