Four jet bridges, redesigned terminal in 12-month project at GAIA ‘to bring disruption’

An $80m expansion of Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) is targeted to begin in November, with the Mia Mottley administration has put a protracted $300m management deal on hold to focus on upgrading the state-owned facility, Finance Minister Ryan Straughn has told Barbados TODAY exclusively.

The expansion is expected to include four jet bridges from a redesigned passenger terminal in a year-long project.

“The short answer is yes,” Straughn replied when asked if the proposed deal had been put on pause.

Finance Minister Ryan Straughn (FP)

CIBC and the Caribbean Development Bank approved the expansion loan, which he signed last week, prompting the government to suspend a proposed public-private partnership (PPP) management contract with a Dubai-Chilean consortium of investors.

The expansion would entail a complete redesign, especially of the terminal, to improve all facilities, Straughn said.

He said: “November should be when that work starts in earnest once the legal aspect is completed. [We provided] a legal opinion from our side to CIBC. That should have been completed. So, I think that November should see a start.”

The finance minister said the capital works should take about 12 months to complete.

“Once we get the financing completed… disbursed, four jet bridges will be done. So, hopefully, by next winter season, December, you should see a different experience at the airport. So, that is why we were pushing to get the loan agreement in place so we could start and focus on that.”

Straughn also cautioned that people would experience disruptions to their usual routines during construction. “Once the works are ongoing, there will be disruptions at the airport. So, that is something that Barbadians will have to get accustomed to with the improvement.”

But incoming and outgoing flights would not be affected, he added.

“We will have to recalibrate how we operate. So, in the same way when you go overseas, and you realise there is construction going on, that is going to be the case. So, as I said, there will be disruptions; that is why we are trying to get in and out as quickly as possible.”

The latest pause in efforts to conclude a $300m deal to take over running the airport from the state-owned enterprise, GAIA Inc., adds to at least four other setbacks over several years since negotiations began.

In July 2023, GAIA Inc., and a consortium of investors – the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of Dubai and the Chilean company Agencias Universales SA – signed a memorandum of understanding with the government for a comprehensive PPP package.

The PPP covers investment in, development of, and operation of the airport, a hemispheric cargo hub, expanded airlift, additional luxury hotel capacity, jobs, and an enhanced customer experience.

The changes are expected to ensure that everyone who works at or transits through the airport, as well as departures and arrivals, is scanned to meet US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards for a category one designation. 

Category One means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety standards. Air carriers from a Category 1 country are authorised to initiate or continue service to the United States and carry code-sharing designations with US carriers.

The government has consistently said it would not sell the airport and would retain jobs and protect terms and conditions under any new deal to manage it. 

(EJ)