The Clemenceau on St Helena?

Three building consortiums, Basil Read, Grinaker and Group Five, are competing for the tender to build an airport on the island of St Helena. The winner will be chosen next May.
The project is not however without opposition. Ecologists have presented a counter-proposal to the Governor which they have asked to be passed on the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. They have suggested that the British government ask the French government for the aircraft carrier Clemenceau to break its homeward journey to France and anchor in Jamestown bay. The vessel would then be filled with concrete so that the deck would be five metres above sea level (the asbestos which it contains would thus be definitively enclosed). Fixed to dry land by a floating jetty, the aircraft carrier would thus become a quay at which large cruise ships could tie up. The disembarcation of passengers and merchandise would thus be greatly facilitated. With the catapult recommissioned, Royal Air Force jets could used the deck as a take-off and landing strip from which to patrol the demarcated St Helena fishing zones around the island (illegally fished by Japanese trawlers); business jets such as Falcons and Avions Marcel Dassault, could also take off and land, creating a permanent link with Ascension island.
It is clear that this is an interesting and original solution, and one which will be closely scrutinised by the two governments. History enthusiasts cannot but be delighted that the names of Napoleon and Clemenceau have thus been linked on St Helena.
 
To see a photo of the project, click on the button “increase”.