News Release

Grantley Adams International Airport heralded as attractive investment prospect at local investors’ conference

BBRIDGETOWN, Barbados, November 27, 2019. Representatives from corporate Barbados, institutional investors, and stakeholders, received a rare glimpse into the operations of the Grantley Adams International Airport and its potential for future investment returns when a conference was staged at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre today, Thursday, November 27, 2019, to provide more details on the proposed Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the airport.

Governments traditionally use PPPs as a means to fund public infrastructure projects in transportation,energy, water and sanitation, schools and healthcare facilities, through contractual engagements with private entities for their mutual benefit.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, the Hon. Kerrie Symmonds, led off the Local Investors’ Conference by setting the context for the partnership, which would see a transfer of the daily operations of the airport from the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) Inc. to a private operator through a long-term contractual agreement. The Minister emphasised that it was important to find a suitable experienced, qualified private partner for the airport facility and this conference was a means by which potential investors in Barbados could be acquainted with the process. The Minister indicated that the private operator, which would be chosen through a competitive tendering process, would ultimately be responsible for expanding and improving operations at the airport to assist with driving increases in revenue and further enhancing quality of service.

Attendees at the half-day session in Barbados benefited from a presentation by Acting Chief Executive Officer of GAIA Inc. Terry Layne, who gave background on the airport and its operations as well as the opportunities in the context of the future redevelopment of GAIA under a PPP arrangement.

Michelle Ottey, Senior Investment Officer with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group that is advising GAIA Inc. on the PPP, also spoke to the proposed structure of the partnership, opportunities for local investors and expected timelines on the process.

In her presentation Ms. Ottey highlighted several features that could make the airport an attractive investment prospect, including that it was a well-maintained and modern facility that had undergone substantial expansion and redevelopment and which offered “significant potential for non-aeronautical revenue and operational efficiency improvements”.

She added that “robust growth” was projected for both the Barbados economy and passenger traffic into the island. The IFC executive indicated that over the life of the Public-Private partnership, passenger traffic was forecast to almost double from 2.2 million to 4 million by 2050.

This important conference followed a presentation on “The development, operation and expansion of the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) Inc. Barbados under a Concession” made by Minister Symmonds and Mr. Layne to international investors at this year’s Global Airport Development

Conference in Dublin, Ireland on November 12, as part of the PPP Roadshow for the proposed new operating structure.

The final decision by GAIA Inc. and Government on which operator will be awarded the contract will be based on the outcome of the evaluation of bids received, against the pre-established criteria set, and is expected to be made in 2020 with operations being fully handed over in early 2021.