Grenada - Infrastructure, power, and communications

Grenada is a small island with a limited road infrastructure of 1,127 kilometers (700 miles), of which about one-half are paved. Rural roads are often impassable and have long been criticized by farmers in remote districts as a serious obstacle to transporting goods to collection points. There are no railways. The main port is at St. George's, where there is a cruise ship terminal. The main airport is Point Salines International Airport, near the capital, construction of which began under the PRG with extensive assistance from Cuba. There is a small airport on Carriacou. The Grenadian government is a shareholder in the regional airline, Leeward Islands Air Transportation (LIAT).

The government has invested strongly in tourismand manufacturing-oriented infrastructure in recent years, upgrading main roads, improving port facilities, and modernizing water and sewerage systems. Little of this investment, however, has reached isolated rural districts.

There are no local oil deposits, and fuel is imported, mostly from Venezuela, for power generation. In 1998 Grenada generated 105 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and consumed 98 million kWh. The telecommunications industry is in the process of being liberalized,

Communications
Country	Telephones a	Telephones, Mobile/Cellular a	Radio Stations b	Radios a	TV Stations a	Televisions a	Internet Service Providers c	Internet Users c
Grenada	27,000	976	AM 2; FM 1; shortwave 0	57,000	2	33,000	14	2,000
United States	194 M	69.209 M (1998)	AM 4,762; FM 5,542; shortwave 18	575 M	1,500	219 M	7,800	148 M
Jamaica	353,000 (1996)	54,640 (1996)	AM 10; FM 13; shortwave 0	1.215 M	7	460,000	21	60,000
St. Lucia	37,000	1,600	AM 2; FM 7; shortwave 0	111,000	3	32,000	15	5,000
a Data is for 1997 unless otherwise noted.
b Data is for 1998 unless otherwise noted.
c Data is for 2000 unless otherwise noted.
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2001 [Online].

having been dominated by Cable & Wireless Grenada (a subsidiary of the large British firm Cable & Wireless PLC) for many years. There is a developed network of main-line telephones, a fiber-optic network, and growing use of mobile telephones. The advent of Call Centres Grenada, an offshore telemarketing operation, in July 2000, was evidence of the island's reliable telecommunications network. Cable & Wireless also provides Internet access.