Three teams are in contention for a public-private partnership deal to take over the operation and expansion of Norman Manley International Airport near Kingston, Jamaica.
The winner will finance, develop and maintain the airport, the second largest in Jamaica after Sangster International, which serves the tourist resort of Montego Bay.
A request for proposals was issued by the Ministry of Transport to eight prequalified bidders in June 2017. The three that responded are:
- Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico
- A team led by Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este, an affiliate of Dominican developer Grupo Puntacana. This team also includes China Harbour Engineering, Corporación Aeroportuaria Kingston (a subsidiary of Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este), fuel provider Gulfstream Petroleum and Jamaica Producers Group
- A team led by Egis Projects, a French engineer that specialises in international transport PPPs. Its team includes Jamaican investment adviser GK Capital Management, Kingston finance house Sagicor Investments Jamaica and Razel-Bec, the civil engineering arm of France’s Fayat Group.
Among the prequalified teams that did not submit final bids were Vinci Airports, GMR Infrastructure of India, Zurich Airport International, Cedicor of Argentina, the Korea Airport Corporation and A-Port Chile.
The government of Jamaica expects to announce the preferred bidder by the end of August, after determining whether the bids received meet its legal, technical and financial criteria. The final deal is due to be signed in October.
NMIA currently serves around 1.5 million passengers a year, a figure that is expected to double over the next 30 years. The winning team will be expected to finance a wide range of refurbishment and expansion works over the lifetime of the concession, including improvements to the airport’s runway.
It is presently operated by the Airports Authority of Jamaica.
Image: Norman Manley International Airport (Development Bank of Jamaica)
- This article was edited on 2 August to correct the titles of the Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este team
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