Jamaica PM expects more flights and better service at now privatised airport

(Jamaica Observer) Prime Minister Andrew Holness says governments over the years have ended up holding onto assets that drain the public purse because of the sentiments attached to the State retaining ownership.

He was speaking at the signing of a 25-year concession agreement with Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP) for the privatisation of the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA), at Jamaica House yesterday.

Under the agreement, the State will retain ownership of the airport, but the prime minister pointed out that the Government is not the expert in the management of airports.

“At the end of the day, what I believe the public wants more than anything else is a well-managed facility that delivers a service efficiently and at an affordable pricepoint, so we have to keep engaging the public because there is a short-sighted view of ownership which actually close out the full utilisation of the value of the asset,” he stated.

Holness argued that allowing entities with the competent skills to take over an asset like the NMIA unlocks a new world of opportunity for the airport, adding that the Public Private Partnership process allows the resources of the country to be paired with the skills and competencies that can best unlock the value of the assets.

He said as a result of this divestment, Jamaicans will become beneficiaries of an expanded runway, an infrastructure investment that the Government could not undertake on its own without sacrificing important social and economic expenditure.

“Now we can take in more flights,” said the prime minister.