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The Howard Hamilton International Airport has not been sold and there is no intention to completely privatise the facility.

An increasingly important theme in airport government policy around the world and nearly always controversial, is private sector involvement or privatisation.

Similarly, the Howard Hamilton International Airport formerly the Providenciales International Airport has seen its fair share of contention, ever since the government announced its intention to seek a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for the redevelopment of the facility.

However, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (‘TCIAA’) Mr Selvyn Hawkin in an attempt to set the record straight, said no preferred bidder or partner has been identified for the redevelopment of the airport.

One of the things we think is important to clarify in this process is that there has been no sale and there is no intent to sell the airport or to completely privatise it , he explained during a recent town hall meeting.

Hawkins argued that the PPP model being proposed to potential investors will in fact do the opposite and allow the TCIAA and by extension the TCI government, to leverage the expertise and skills of the private sector whilst maintaining ownership of the asset at all times.

We’ve been given the green light to explore the possibility of redeveloping the airport by a private-public partnership, and just for the record, I want to say that the process as far as we know has been wholly compliant with TCI laws, so we’re starting off on good footing.

“I know some persons may say it has taken quite a long time to get here, but we got here because every step of the way, we were trying to make sure that we complied with TCI law.

He underscored that the PPP process is being explored by running an open, transparent and public tender exercise under the supervision of the Government s Procurement Board to further explore if value for money can be obtained through such a project.

He emphasised that if in the end, the project yields unfavourable results, the project as intended will have to be reconsidered or possibly abandoned.

Need for redevelopment

The multi-million dollar redevelopment and modernisation of the airport in Providenciales, TCI s main gateway for international travel is deemed a priority project for the government, as the island s economy is largely dependent on tourism.

Turning his attention to the plethora of challenges facing the airport, which handles an increasingly high traffic volume, Hawkins reminded that it is no secret that the airport is in dire need of expansion and upgrade.

He said:  It’s indicative that there’s a demand for the Turks and Caicos that exceeds our ability to meet it on our own in terms of infrastructure.

And so, we realised that we need to maximise these opportunities to address terminal passenger constraints, airside constraints, constraints resulting in late arrivals and late departures, health and safety concerns, due to the congestion that’s currently there, and just the state of the current asset itself, there are concerns with regulatory compliance, there’s a need for enhancing our maintenance and obtaining better procurement.

He acknowledged that the territory has been very fortunate to have a robust tourism sector and its main airport has to reflect the tourism luxury brand.

We are an award-winning traveller s destination, with several accolades around the world, connected to our beaches, and to the services that we provide on the luxury tourism scene.

I’m happy to note that the reputation we boast is that of luxury or niche tourism and it’s something that we re working hard to preserve.

But one of the things that we want to set in is that, whilst we may  be thriving on the fact that we are luxury, tourism award winning tourism destination, traveling into the destination at present, doesn’t seem so luxurious.

It’s just the reality of what we’re currently faced with at the Howard Hamilton International Airport.

And so, I think the pictures alone are revealing in that not only is there a need for a new terminal, but there’s a need for bringing in some form of world-class or international expertise in understanding what is needed to meet the international demands of what we would say should be the transport or gateway to a luxury destination.

The airport registered 1.2m passengers in 2019, demonstrating a steady growth over the past decade, and it is estimated that by the year 2040, those numbers will double reaching about 2m passengers annually.

In the aftermath of Covid-19, travel into and throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands returned at a rapid rate and surpassed its pre-pandemic traffic volume.

If all goes according to plans, the massive project will see the construction of a new passenger terminal building of a minimum of 270,000 square feet for a capacity of approximately 2.5m passengers including boarding bridges, increased commercial areas and increased VIP lounges and an expansion of the airside to add domestic and international standards, including the addition of a parallel taxiway.