The visit by a delegation of Royal Schiphol Group (see Monday paper) signals an important phase in efforts to restore badly-damaged Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) to its former glory. Agreement was recently reached on a grant of US $50 million from the Dutch-sponsored Trust Fund managed by the World Bank and a soft loan for the same amount from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
A related bridge loan of $15 million to keep the government-owned company going despite predictable post-Hurricane Irma losses has also been arranged. Country St. Maarten provided an immediate advance of $5 million to be deducted later for urgent expenses such as the January salaries of 270 employees.
Together with a provisional insurance claim pay-out totalling $58.2 million, all that money should be enough to not only finish rebuilding PJIA but to do so stronger and better, with necessary additions including a US pre-clearance facility. Recently-appointed CEO Brian Mingo stated that funding and the actual project planning are yet to be completed, but things at least seem to be heading in the right direction.
A lot was said about bringing in the Schiphol Group from the Netherlands, which operates and owns Amsterdam Airport Schiphol plus airfields in Rotterdam, The Hague and Lelystad. The business with 2,000 personnel also has a majority stake in Eindhoven Airport.
Mingo in any case does not see involvement of the Dutch group as a threat, pointing out that they also help manage “Aeropuerto Reina Beatrix” in Aruba, JFK in New York and other international airports. As the new CEO put it, merging 75 years of local aviation experience with Schiphol’s resources and 175 years of experience can only benefit PJIA.
Now that’s the right attitude.
