The Tribune

BY NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE NASSAU Airport Development Company’s (NAD) top executive yesterday revealed it plans to conclude the process of selecting a developer for its proposed hotel before year-end 2026 with public consultation over the project’s environmental impact set for September 29.

Vernice Walkine, the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) operator’s president and chief executive, in e-mailed replies to Tribune Business questions reiterated its belief that lack hotel room inventory growth on New Providence, coupled with still-buoyant tourism demand, ensures “the timing is right to move forward” with what is planned to be a 250-room, mid-market priced, airport hotel.

Speaking to the tender for selecting a developer for the hotel, billed as the “first” stage in NAD’s wider vision to create a larger business and economic hub centred on LPIA, she confirmed that the bidding process that was launched some 16 months ago in May 2025 is “still underway”.

Ms Walkine, telling this newspaper that she and NAD executives remain under “confidentiality requirements” until this is completed, said: “We expect to conclude this process before the end of the year. This is an exciting project for NAD, and we believe it will have a meaningful positive social and economic impact on our destination…

“We believe the timing is right to move forward with the airport hotel development, given the loss of hotel room inventory in recent years, the continued growth in tourist arrivals by air and sea, and the strong market demand for this type of amenity in the capital city of an archipelago such as ours.”

Ms Walkine also confirmed that NAD is “proceeding with the environmental approval process” for the airport hotel project according to Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) requirements and guidelines. “Securing this approval is expected to significantly benefit and add value to the selected proponent,” she added.

A public consultation meeting on the airport hotel project’s environmental impacts is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at the New Providence Community Church. The just-released environmental management plan (EMP), dated October 2025, was produced by Bahamian consultancy, Sev Consulting Group.

“The landside hotel is the first stage in NAD’s broader vision to create a larger business and economic hub centred on the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA),” the EMP reaffirmed.

“The hotel development targets mid-market and upper mid-market price points with an expected total of 250 rooms. With the hotel consisting of two buildings, there is the option for one or two-phase development – one building will consist of 120, and the other of 130, rooms.” The former is projected to be 60,000 square feet, and the latter 65,000 square feet.

“The hotel is a design-build project being implemented by NAD,” the EMP said, adding that it will have a parking lot and feature “storm water detention areas”. The expected construction build-out period is 36 months.

“Amenities will include a restaurant or café, fitness centre, business centre and meeting room facilities. The conceptual plan also shows future stages of development planned for LPIA including offices as well as food and beverage spaces,” the document added.

“The location of the project site is in the existing cell phone waiting area. This area is also utilised on an informal basis by taxi cabs. The current parking lot for the livery drivers is within the footprint of the hotel. A location has been designated for a new parking lot for these drivers. The cell phone waiting area will be relocated once construction commences to avoid disruptions to users. The area is already cleared of vegetation.

“The project site is approximately 6.2 acres (25,175 square metres) in northwestern New Providence. It is within the existing footprint of LPIA. Land use surrounding the site includes other LPIA facilities and undeveloped land. The project site is bound by Windsor Field Road to the north, US departures Road to the east and US departures parking lot to the south.”

Speaking to the construction impacts for airport users, plus surrounding businesses and residents in western New Providence, the EMP said: “Appropriate design and planning methodologies can result in construction and operation in a sustainable manner….

“Development of a traffic management plan to be implemented for the duration of construction will reduce impact to traffic. The plan should contain direction for the use of proper speed in and around residential areas, near schools and in locations with known pedestrian traffic.

“Appropriate signage should be put in place at the project site and along Windsor Field Road and US departures road, alerting motorists of construction and the potential for delays. Advertisements and notifications should be sent out in advance to surrounding communities and businesses if significant delays are planned,” the EMP added.

“An area will need to be designated for employee parking to ensure vehicles are not parked in such a way as to obstruct traffic on either road…. Periodic monitoring of the project site will ensure that storage, staging and parking areas are maintained, and other construction activities do not encroach on nearby properties.

“Physical barriers such as fencing, netting and temporary storage and staging areas can be used to ensure that visually unappealing aspects of the construction site are not visible outside of the site.”

NAD previously said the identified site also has the ability to accommodate around 280 parking spaces with much of the necessary infrastructure already in place. It added that the hotel could cater to a variety of guests, including travellers and visitors to the Family Islands who either want to - or are forced to - overnight in Nassau.

Most international airports have multiple hotels either within their properties or in close proximity. NAD said other guest markets for such a hotel at LPIA could include flights crews, persons visiting for one-day conferences and meetings, and clients coming in to visit western New Providence financial institutions, law firms and other businesses. The convention and conference market would be another major target.

The hotel is part of what NAD has described as a wider Landside Development Master Plan and Strategy (LDMS) that it is developing in collaboration with its management partner, Vantage Group. This would create a ‘Gateway District’ to further stimulate economic development in western New Providence, while diversifying LPIA’s revenue streams beyond the existing aeronautical and non-aeronautical income.

Some 3.71m passengers passed through LPIA during NAD’s 2023 financial year, just shy of the 3.99m processed in its 2019. Its facilities are designed to span 20-40 years and accommodate up to five million passengers.

The hotel project bidding process is separated into two phases. In the first ‘expression of interest’ phase, potential developers must show their qualifications, financial capacity, development experience and project approach. Short-listed candidates will then be invited to participate in a second phase Request for Proposal (RFP) to determine the winning bidder.

Tribune Business revealed plans for an LPIA airport hotel as far back as October 2011. The original developers were said to be the owners of the Atlantic Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, and the project was anticipated to create between 100-150 full-time jobs via a resort of ‘four-star’ standard, rather than the typical ‘two-star’ airport hotel.

George Allen, one of the principals in the original developer group, told Tribune Business at the time they had elected not to pursue the LPIA airport hotel because feasibility studies showed it could sustain only 50 rooms.

This was 50 per cent of the inventory eyed by NAD, and Mr Allen said the group had instead looked at developing a mixed-use proposal for the site involving a smaller hotel, offices, retail and restaurant. This, though, failed to match NAD’s demands.