By NEIL HARTNELL 

Tribune Business Editor 

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE lead investor in the consortium spearheading Bimini airport’s $80m redevelopment yesterday branded the project as an “incredible opportunity” with construction work set to start this fall.

Jeremy Ebie, chief executive and founder of US-based Phoenix Engineering Group, one of the investors in the Bimini Airport Development Partners (BAPD) group, told the Airports Conference of the Americas summit that the airport’s real estate will still be owned by the Government while the consortium manages and finances its overhaul.

“We don’t talk about privatisation,” Mr Ebie said. “The way we work, we don’t seek to buy unless it’s a completely available airport. We seek long-term agreements. What we own is the contractual agreement to finance that airport and run that airport. On the back end, we receive revenues from some of the charges; the economic charges. At the end of the day, delivery is what matters.

“The dynamic we always talk about in the industry - it’s a boring one until it’s critical - it’s risk. Design risks, building and construction risks, financing risks, and the most important one out of all that is the operational one.

“These are costs that are significant. They can run you a long time and, in some cases, can really be a difficult situation for governments when they don’t continuously meet that extensive financial and operation management of risk that you have to place within an asset. We, the partners, are coming to take on that risk on behalf of the Government.”

Mr Ebie explained that the decision to target Bimini’s airport was based on several factors including tourism and the amount of tourists that arrive by air, and proximity to the US. He said he saw room for development on Bimini and the opportunity for engagement.

“They have great initiatives,” Mr Ebie said. “We all flew to get here. Tourism is a major part of how the country works. A large part of the GDP and getting people to the facilities is the lifeblood flow of the economy. So, having excellent airports is a priority, and I think it’s a model that you’re going to see more in the Caribbean, you’re going to see more in The Bahamas.

“We’re going to prove that it works well. It works well in the US also, and what I’m excited about for this industry in the Caribbean especially is that this is a time which folks are looking at really putting capital into Caribbean assets because of the interest in tourism post-COVID; because of the movement in the US from South Florida, and because the Caribbean sits between the south and the north. It’s an incredible opportunity.”

An attendee inquired about climate change and how it affects airports in The Bahamas. Peter Rutherford, moderator and managing director of the Airport Authority, recalled Hurricane Dorian and said the catastrophic hurricane was “a real game changer in terms of understanding how resilient we have to be”.

He added that Mr Ebie and his team had to meet certain requirements as it pertains to weather and that “a clean, green airport is the way we are going in the future”.

“We incorporated components of flood mitigation into all airport construction,” Mr Rutherford said. “Most airports are on the coast. A lot of the airports are probably within half a mile of the shoreline and a lot are impacted by deep ocean currents in the Caribbean. So we had to formulate that into our planning.”