Barbados in major upgrade deal for Grantley Adams airport

 Chairman of Grantley Adams International Airport, Vic Fernandes, and International Finance Corporation’s vice-president Georgina Baker after signing the long-term agreement yesterday. (Picture by Lennox Devonish.)
Chairman of Grantley Adams International Airport, Vic Fernandes, and International Finance Corporation’s vice-president Georgina Baker after signing the long-term agreement yesterday. (Picture by Lennox Devonish.)

(Barbados Nation) Barbados has agreed to a long-term business partnership in the region of 25 to 30 years to completely renovate and refurbish Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA), to make it the best small airport in the Western Hemisphere.

But in the end, the National Insurance Scheme and workers at the airport will be shareholders in the facility, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has revealed.

Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds yesterday signed the agreement with the International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank, to roll out the Private/Public Sector Partnership Agreement that will lead to a 27 000 square-metre improvement to the airport, and the establishment of numerous amenities there.

“We were in discussions with IFC to see what we could do about the urgent injection of capital and opportunities for joint ventures with the airport,” the Prime Minister said at yesterday’s signing at Government Headquarters.