Curaçao, an island of 130,000 people in the Netherlands Antilles, about 40 miles (64 km.) north of Venezuela, is positioning to be a major regional trans-shipping hub. Aiding this effort is a $60-million expansion of Curaçao International Airport, where a new terminal is set to open in early 2006.
      The airport drew 1.1 million passengers in 2004. The expansion will bring annual capacity up to 1.6 million, expandable to 2.5 million, making it one of the larger airports in the Caribbean.
      A longer-term plan involves development around the airport, including a possible new free trade zone area. The Cura çao Industrial and International Trade Development Co. (Curinde) currently operates an Airport Economic Zone geared toward exporting. Walter Abernathy, CEO of Cura çao Airport Partners, the private company operating the airport, says the new trade zone could support light manufacturing and distribution of perishable foodstuffs and flowers from South America. "We believe there's a lot of potential for distribution of high-value, low-weight cargo," says Abernathy.