"Nassau Airport Deal Signed"

Friday, October 20, 2006

Airport Deal Signed
By Quincy Parker 
The Bahama Journal


In 60 days, Canadian airport management company Vancouver Airport Services
(YVRAS) will take over management of daily operations at the Lynden Pindling
International Airport for the next 10 years.

After lengthy negotiations, the last few months of which were centred on
only two points, the company signed a contract with the Nassau Airport
Development Company (NAD) around 11:30 Thursday morning at the Cabinet
Office.

Asked to comment on the delay over what Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna
Martin has called "two fine points" - one of which the Journal has learned
was a proposed million-dollar performance bond - YVRAS Chief Executive
Officer George Casey said that "detailed discussions" are to be expected.

"But it's important to get the deal right," he said. "As you would expect in
the flow of negotiations, it narrows down to a couple of different issues,
but that's after resolving hundreds of them. So we didn't see any real
obstacles in the end," Mr. Casey said.

"The fit seems to be right.there was satisfactory resolution of those
issues. We're comfortable with where the negotiations have ended."

The structure of the arrangement calls for the Nassau Airport Development
Company (NAD), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Airport Authority, to be
responsible for the daily operation of the Lynden Pindling International
Airport.

The 10-year, $225 million contract is between NAD and YVRAS.

According to NAD Chairman Anthony Kikivarakis, the Airport Authority will
assume responsibility for operating five other airports beginning with the
Marsh Harbour airport, which authorities say is the third busiest in the
country.

The Airport Authority will retain authority for security at Lynden Pindling
International Airport, along with crash, fire and rescue services.

Prime Minister Perry Christie pointed out the new security requirements The
Bahamas must live up to from international agencies and how they relate to
the industries developing in The Bahamas.

"The Bahamas government is faced with an enormous exercise that challenges
the central government's capacity to, in the traditional way, budget for and
pay for out of revenue the airport's refurbishment, renewal, expansion and
all of the equipment and necessary security provisions that are now
internationally required," Mr. Christie explained.

He said that the airport is now under a 30-year-lease by NAD, which will
manage the airport with YVRAS.

The prime minister outlined some of the vital points of the management deal,
which include a provision that at least three of the five top executives
running the airport - Canadians currently hold all the top posts - will be
Bahamian within the next six years.

Mr. Christie also said the management contract includes "a programme of
training and exposure at airports abroad to significantly increase the
number of Bahamian middle-managers within three years."

"And so again, Vancouver (Airport) Services, as is it's international
record, has committed to ensuring that Bahamians have every opportunity to
be trained within their system of airports internationally with a view to
their taking prominent roles in their operations in The Bahamas," he said.

Mr. Christie said that the experience gained by partnering with YVRAS will
help The Bahamas increase the effective introduction of modern airport
management at airports around the country.

Mr. Casey outlined the objectives the contract binds the company to.

"They fall into two main categories; the first is the timely and
cost-effective development of capital facilities. So we will have a key
focus on near-term improvements at the airport and also the longer term
upgrading and renovation of airport facilities to create the jewel of the
Caribbean and a world-class facility going forward," he said.

"The second is focusing on the primary operation and improvements related to
that, and the day to day business of the airport. So those areas will be key
to us - developing capital facilities and the ongoing operation of the
airport and introducing best practices."

Mrs. Hanna Martin said the signing was an essential phase in the
redevelopment of LPIA, which began four years ago with the $40 million plus
refurbishment of a runway.

"Today represents a significant shift in that expertise is being imported
with a view to a transfer of technology to Bahamians in a short term;
Bahamians who will ultimately be responsible for state-of-the-art, cutting
edge strategies for airport development throughout this country. We are
equipping our people and investing in the future," she said.

Mrs. Hanna Martin's mention of a transfer of technology harks back to the
concept as first enunciated by her father, Attorney General Arthur Hanna.
Mr. Hanna, widely credited with inventing the term "Bahamianization,"
explained to the Journal recently that when he coined the term, he was
referring to "a transfer of technology."

By that, he meant that foreign expertise should be brought in to The Bahamas
from which Bahamians would ultimately learn and take over. This was the
essence of Bahamianization, and it is what Mrs. Hanna Martin meant when she
used the phrase.

Prime Minister Christie called the contract one of the boldest and most
defining experiences for The Bahamas because it represents a transformation
of the country's approach to airport management. 

He added that the contract had in place a number of monitoring mechanisms
like performance and management standards milestones that will make review
of the process easy.

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