The $300m public-private partnership (PPP) deal to operate Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) remains protracted as designs are finalised and financing arrangements are negotiated after multiple delays, Barbados TODAY can reveal.
In July 2023, the state enterprise running the airport, GAIA Inc., and a joint consortium of investors — the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of Dubai and Chilean company Agencias Universales SA — signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government for a comprehensive investment package.
But after suffering no fewer than five delays, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn said the project has now reached the stage where the investors have to adopt the final designs for the venture.
Straughn told Barbados TODAY: “We have got the designs completed, and the emirate were arranging financing. Two things: because things were taking long, we agreed to go ahead and get the designs completed. We have financing that we arranged; and therefore, the discussions now with the emirate are the adoption of the designs that are there, and the financing that they would then bring to take over the financing that we put in place.”
He added: “At the end of the day, we need the airport development to continue. So, that is where the discussions are at now in relation to the government and the emirate in relation to the PPP. So, things are moving ahead, at least from the infrastructural perspective, and therefore, once the discussions are concluded, they will then adopt, not just the designs, but the financing that they will bring to make sure that the development plan is executed.”
But Straughn could not say when the project is likely to get off the ground.
The PPP is for the investment, development and operation of the airport, a hemispheric hub for cargo, expanded airlift and additional luxury hotel capacity, jobs, and enhanced customer experience.
In an earlier interview with Barbados TODAY, Straughn said: “We have already taken decisions in relation to expansion; and therefore, the inclusion of some air bridges and expanding the aprons and that type of thing is being scoped, and obviously, once the financing arrangement is in place, then those things will be taken up by the entity.”
“But the reality is that, irrespective of whatever happens, Barbados has to make sure that its civil aviation infrastructure is indeed, in tip-top shape. We have seen a lot of people come through post-COVID, and therefore, we are working on all fronts to make sure that everything is in place.”
He said the looming global trade war provides Barbados with an opportunity to broaden access to elsewhere in the US, rather than just New York and Miami.
Straughn said: “This is a puzzle piece that I think, once we get right, we should see significantly more passenger traffic flowing through the airport, bringing more business to Barbados. In my constituency, you are seeing more people putting their properties into Airbnb, more tourists walking around in Kingsland and Lodge Road. You are seeing it across the country, so community tourism will be enhanced.”
He pointed out that one of the delays came with the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was global uncertainty in air travel.
“Now that we have seen, not just a recovery, but as we have said to the stakeholders, we really want to make sure that the investment is taking place. It has taken long, and we have had to take some other decisions to make sure the airport continues to see investment come in, irrespective of the arrangement; but it is regrettable that it has taken as long as it has. Obviously, due diligence and all that have to be in place.”
This is so, he reasoned, especially with family-owned businesses, as many of the entities in the Middle East tend to be.
Straughn explained that those types of businesses attract a higher level of scrutiny than publicly traded companies: “That has been part of the challenge. I don’t think it is a hindrance per se, but you will be doing business with somebody new, and therefore, you had to make sure that all of that due diligence is put in place.”
The minister insisted that the government was not selling the airport, only handing it to a concessionaire to manage.
Workers have again been assured of job protection and no lesser terms and conditions of employment.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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