No sale

Airport to remain in Gov’t hands but PPP deal potentially close By Emmanuel Joseph Assuring Barbadians that Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) will not be sold, the Government is hoping to reach a deal with two foreign partners by mid-October on a new management arrangement that will bring $300 million in foreign investment for airport development, jobs and enhanced customer experience. News of the comprehensive investment package for Barbados was revealed on Tuesday in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by GAIA Inc., the Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of Dubai, and Chilean company Agencias Universales SA, towards a new Public Private Partnership (PPP). The PPP is for the investment, development and operation of the airport, a hemispheric hub for cargo, expanded airlift and additional luxury hotel capacity. “If we agree to a contract in 90 days, we will be going to an interim arrangement at that point, and we can expect the first of two phases of the $300 million to start in about two years once all the planning and engineering has been completed,” chairman of Barbados’ negotiating team Professor Avinash Persaud told Barbados TODAY. “I know that sounds like a long time to wait, but you need to start right to get it right. Getting here has been exhausting.” Persaud, who is Special Envoy to Prime Minister Mia Mottley for Investment and Finance, disclosed that the Government had to abandon the process for a previous arrangement that involved several companies because it was not offering Barbados a good enough deal. “We found a better, more comprehensive arrangement for the country. It has taken over a year of intense negotiation, thinking and planning, but I hope Barbadians would consider this exciting news,” he said. “We are not selling Grantley Adams [International Airport] and never will. This is an agreement to fast-track us to negotiating details of a Public Private Partnership over the next 90 days. In the proposed partnership that we will be negotiating, all current contracts will be honoured. That includes workers’ and tenants’ terms and conditions.” The investment and finance expert added that if the transaction is completed within 90 days and Barbados gets the $300 million investment, it would be partly used to maintain current standards. He added: “Airports are expensive if you want international airlines to land and we need the investment to maintain them. It is also partly an investment upgrade to take us to the next level…allowing bigger planes to land, sorting out structure, and going solar as part of our country’s net-zero target by 2030. And it’s partly money to enhance the customer experience. So, for example, protecting arriving and departing customers from the elements, improving the air condition…. Nowadays you can arrive at an A-class airport when it’s raining and get wet, so we need to sort that out.” Persaud said that in return for the multi-million-dollar investment, instead of this country getting debt, it will share future and increased revenue with the new partners. “They are a Dubai-based group with international cargo and passenger expertise and partnerships that would help us enhance airlift, especially from the Middle East and Africa, and tourism investment and new hotels and so on. It’s a comprehensive package we are looking for,” he explained. The MOU stated that the Government of Barbados recognised that without substantial investment, the airport will not be able to maintain standards and certifications in the long run. “At the same time, the Government of Barbados is in a debt-reduction programme to safeguard the value of the Barbados dollar. As a result of that programme, the ratio of national debt to national income peaked at 176.8 per cent in 2018, and despite the pandemic, is now at 119.6 per cent – almost halfway to the long-run sustainable target of 60 per cent. But this track leaves little room on the Government’s balance sheet for substantial addition of debt for required airport investment,” it stated. The proposed PPP follows an earlier MOU between the Governments of Barbados and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that looked toward closer commercial interests, especially in the transport and travel sectors. The Government said the shared interests with the UAE also involved protecting and expanding national employment through investment, training, service excellence, certification, employee and customer safety, higher revenue growth, and better integration between airport-cargo-airlift and hotels. The UAE said it is committed to coordinating and facilitating investments in new hotels and airlift. Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill gave the assurance that existing workers at the airport will not be disadvantaged as a result of the PPP. “I know that change can be unsettling, even if positive. So a critical component of this potential PPP is that there will be no change in ownership of our airport and no change in the terms and conditions of employees. We have also tried hard to keep all workers and their representatives updated and consulted about developments, opportunities and challenges,” he said. Gooding-Edghill said he will also soon be announcing the date for a town hall meeting where he will present the PPP plan and answer any questions from the public. In his response to this latest development as it affects employees represented by the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), General Secretary Richard Greene said his administration will be looking forward to getting details of the investment partnership. “What has been notified to the public is a very broad MOU that gives very little away in terms of detail, especially as it relates to our constituent workers at the Grantley Adams International Airport. The NUPW will be looking forward to more information of greater detail of the impact this MOU will have on the workers at the Grantley Adams International Airport,” he told Barbados TODAY. “The NUPW will be looking to see where there can be improvements and enhancements in the terms and conditions for the staff, as part of the PPP.” emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb]]>