The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Some $400m worth of airport upgrades are under review to determine if the process as designed aligns with the Davis administration’s strategy, a top aviation official said yesterday.

Algernon Cargill, director of aviation, told Tribune Business that he and his officials “will have an answer soon” from Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister, and his team on whether the Grand Bahama and six Family Island airport public-private partnership (PPP) bidding processes will launch as envisaged by the former administration.

Describing this review as a normal procedure any prudent incoming administration would initiate, given the sums of money involved and importance to Bahamian infrastructure and tourism, Mr Cargill said it was “not on the backburner” and officials will “determine the exact course very soon”.

While the pre-qualification phase for the Grand Bahama International and Family Island airport PPPs is “ready to go” as soon as the review is completed, and go-ahead given, the aviation chief told this newspaper he was unable to comment yet on how exactly that will happen.

“We’re having a meeting with the minister to determine the strategic direction,” Mr Cargill said. “It’s a process. I imagine the Government wants to review the process and see if they agree with the strategy. We are in discussions and will have an answer soon.

“As far as I know, the PPPs are going ahead. Is it going to be exactly as planned? I can’t say. That’s a government policy decision and is outside my scope.” Mr Cargill said all feedback received to-date from Mr Cooper, who is minister for tourism, investments and aviation, and his team had been positive.

The request for qualification process, where bidders on the airport upgrades are assessed and qualified for the actual bidding or Request for Proposal (RFP) phase, was supposed to have been launched in mid-September.

While the general election and its outcome have now intervened, Mr Cargill said the request for qualification is “ready to go” and will be released once the formal meeting with the deputy prime minister results in a positive conclusion.

“It’s certainly understood that the Government has to assess the programme and ensure that as designed it meets their strategy. Until that is done we fully understand and support the Government’s direction,” he added.

“We fully understand the Government’s direction to review and confirm the programme is aligned with their strategy. It’s not as if it’s on the backburner, so we expect to be able to determine the exact course very soon.”

Mr Cargill’s comments came as several sources suggested the Family Island airport PPPs could be adjusted based on the Speech from the Throne. In particular, they noted the absence of any mention of Long Island, even though it was previously thought to be the next location where works could start after Exuma.

“The Government will expedite the development of the airports in Exuma, Grand Bahama and North Eleuthera, and will advance the development of all major airports across The Bahamas through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs),” the Speech from the Throne said, thus leaving the door open to Abaco, Long Island and others.

Under the current structure, RFP documents will only be issued to groups and bidders that satisfy the pre-qualification process. Besides Grand Bahama, the six Family Island airports included in their own separate package are Exuma, North Eleuthera, Abaco, Long Island, San Salvador and Great Harbour Cay.

Construction work on Exuma’s $65m transformation has already begun, while the $15m worth of upgrades to Great Harbour Cay are almost finished. A recommendation had been supplied to the Minnis Cabinet as to the winning contractor for the $15m Deadman’s Cay revamp.

And the Government was said to have been “in the negotiating stage” with RF Bank & Trust over the $140m financing line it will provide for the airport upgrades.

Jim Lew, managing director of LeighFisher, the aviation consultants hired by the Government to develop the PPP process for outsourcing the airports to private developers/managers, previously said the financing for the six Family Island airports will be separate from that for Grand Bahama International Airport.

With the North Eleuthera and Exuma airport revamps estimated to involve $65m each, the $10m price tags for San Salvador and Abaco, as well as $18m for Long Island and $15m for Great Harbour Cay, take total projected capital investment costs to $183m - well above the $140m-$150m to be raised by RF Bank & Trust.

As for Grand Bahama, Mr Lew said “significant investment” is required by the successful bidder on both “the ground side and the air side” to not only rebuild Grand Bahama International Airport but make it sufficiently resilient to withstand future natural disasters.

He added that “around $200m” is needed to “replace the facilities and ground infrastructure to capture the growth sorely needed at this site”. This was reiterated in the accompanying project information memorandum, which added: “The airport suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

“An FBO (fixed base operation) building was repurposed as a temporary terminal. A comprehensive site-wide redevelopment solution (around $200m) is required to replace damaged facilities, unlock commercial potential, and operate the airport as a profit centre.”