By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE long-promised redevelopment of Grand Bahama International Airport has once again ground to a halt after the private partners tapped to lead the $200m project failed to secure financing.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper confirmed yesterday that financing was initially supposed to be procured by the winning consortium that featured Manchester Airport Group (MAG), which would have had a management agreement to operate the facility.

However, it had not delivered the funding officials expected.

“Regrettably, the funding had not happened,” Mr Cooper told reporters after touring the Nassau Straw Market yesterday. “We are at the moment organising alternative funding. Whilst I cannot speak to that today, I can tell you that we are making progress and in due course I will be making a further statement.”

The revelation marks the latest setback for a redevelopment effort plagued by delays and shifting timelines since Hurricane Dorian devastated the airport in 2019.

In March last year, government officials heralded a sweeping $200m transformation, promising work would begin before the quarter’s end. Design options were unveiled and demolition of old terminals was said to be imminent. Despite those pledges, financing was never locked in, and substantive construction never began.

The government bought the facility in April 2021 and has repeatedly promised to deliver a new, modern hub by 2025, though that deadline now appears increasingly uncertain. Demolition was supposed to start in 2023, then again in February this year when Mr Cooper assured it would happen “within 30 days.” Neither pledge was met.

The public-private model was meant to mirror the arrangement at Lynden Pindling International Airport, with the state owning the facility and private partners managing operations.

The redevelopment of Grand Bahama International Airport is considered vital to the island’s recovery. A modern airport is seen as the gateway to revitalising tourism, improving airlift, and attracting the visitor numbers hotels, resorts and small businesses need to survive. Business leaders argue that the project could also serve as a catalyst for broader economic growth, spurring investment in logistics, real estate and industrial sectors that have languished since Hurricane Dorian.

Meanwhile, when asked about progress on the Grand Lucayan resort, Mr Cooper declined to comment, saying Prime Minister Philip Davis was personally handling that matter.

“The Prime Minister will speak to that matter,” he said. “He is handling the issue, and I am sure at some stage he will make a statement. I have no comments on it.”

The airport setback echoes earlier troubles with the Grand Lucayan, where the Davis administration’s 2022 agreement with Electra America Hospitality Ltd collapsed after the company failed to secure the financing needed for its proposed $300m redevelopment.

The Free National Movement condemned the latest setback as “another broken promise”, noting the PPP was unveiled months ago and that officials had pledged phase one would be finished by April 2025. The party called on the government to disclose whether funds were ever received, whether any financing agreement collapsed, and to publish an updated construction timeline and the terms of the PPP.