Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

Her Majesty's Government why repairs at Wideawake airfield on Ascension Island cannot be completed for two or three years.

The two mile runway at Wideawake Airfield requires a full-depth resurfacing. The runway is owned and operated by the US Air Force under the Bahamas Agreement. Therefore, they are responsible for the design, management and delivery of the resurfacing project. The design phase is already underway but Ascension's isolated location and the complexity of these repairs mean works are not expected to be completed until 2020.