By YOURI KEMP
Tribune Business Reporter
ykemp@tribunemedia.net
Many Family Island airports “no longer meet” growing tourist and airline demands, the Government’s top aviation official said yesterday, as he justified the rationale for putting 14 locations out to bid.
Dr Kenneth Romer, the Ministry of Tourism’s deputy director-general and acting director of aviation, told the Office of The Prime Minister’s weekly press briefing that airport operations and development was critical to the “national strategy” for further developing this industry.
He added that seeking private sector capital, development and operations/management expertise for the 14 airports, which were put out to tender on March 1, will “really unlock infrastructural growth” through an anticipated collective $263m investment in their upgrade.
The airports, which will still be owned by the Government, will be leased to the respective winning bidders for 30 years via public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements in a bid to improve airlift connectivity and increase their capacity to handle ever-growing volumes of tourist arrivals to the Family Islands.
“The reality is… the airports must be developed to ensure they comply with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) standards and to ensure that they are lending themselves to good experiences for both international and domestic travellers,” Dr Romer said.
“The facilities no longer meet the current and growing demands of airlift and, of course, traffic growth is constrained by capacity. We’re [the Ministry of Tourism] going out there speaking about attracting additional airlift, but the airlines are constantly speaking about the ability of these airports to handle capacity.”
“Beyond the next five years, it [the PPPs] will be a part of our national strategy for the development of aviation again throughout archipelago. I believe that the concurrent and timely capital investments are going to seek to optimise our levels of service, and this is critical for us as a tourism-dependent nation.”
Dr Romer said the bidding process launched on March 1, 2023, with the request for bidders to pre-qualify before the process moves into the Request for Proposal (RFP) phase and, ultimately, the selection of the most-qualified and suitable candidates to upgrade the airports.
He added that the pre-qualification phase is “simply to seek relevant industry qualifications, invite qualified and experienced concessionaires to be a part of the design the building, financing, operating and maintaining a portfolio of Family Island airports”.
The Ministry of Tourism, Aviation and Investments is estimating that a collective $263m investment will be required to turn the 14 selected airports into hubs of a size and standard appropriate for their location. Exuma and North Eleuthera are projected to require the greatest capital spend, at around $65m each, with Governor’s Harbour, Rock Sound, New Bight and Deadman’s Cay (Long Island) all pegged at around $18m apiece.
San Salvador was projected to carry a $15m price tag, with the quartet of Marsh Harbour, Sandy Point, Treasure Cay and Congo Town in Andros all projected to need a $10m investment. The smaller aviation gateways in the Exuma cays - Staniel Cay, Fowl Cay and Black Point, were each pegged at $2m.
Dr Romer said yesterday that the Government’s goal is to turn the 14 airports into “profit centres” where feasible. “We believe it can be done throughout the 14 targeted airports, exclusive of Grand Bahama and Great Harbour Cay, which was launched in 2022,” he added.
“Grand Bahama, of course, an announcement is imminent with Grand Bahama, and when we have these airports operating profitably there’s going to be some responsibility for maximising revenue and managing costs to generate an optimised profitability.”
Dr Romer then confirmed: “We’re going to go in an order of airports: Abaco, the Leonard Thompson International Airport, at [then at] tier three, Sandy Point and Treasure Cay airports. Andros, Congo Town airport, Cat Island, New Bight International Airport as a part of this particular portfolio.
“Eleuthera is going to get triplets when it speaks to Governors Harbour, North Eleuthera and also Rock Sound. The main Exuma airport is going to be targeted for development. As a matter of fact, we are pleased that development has continued and construction is in earnest in Georgetown, Exuma, with three in the Exuma cays, specifically Black Point, Farmer’s and Staniel Cay.
“Long Island again is targeted for development through Deadman’s Cay International Airport, and San Salvador has also been targeted, very important again for Club Med, and so we have targeted 14 in this particular portfolio.”
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