Less than three years after Prince Charles cut the ribbon to officially open Grand Cayman’s revamped airport terminal, further expansion of the facility is being considered.
Amid projections of a rapid return of tourism in the aftermath of COVID-19, airport chiefs believe a new masterplan for the future of Cayman’s three airports is needed.
They are also looking to upgrade the private aviation terminal, currently considered out-of-keeping with Cayman’s “luxury brand”.
A total of $74 million was spent on the initial upgrades to the Owen Roberts International Airport terminal in Grand Cayman, more than doubling the capacity of the terminal. A further $45 million has since been invested in upgrading the runway and airfield.
But the Cayman Islands Airports Authority has warned that the expanded terminal was already being tested by “aggressive” growth after successive years of record tourism prior to COVID.
It projects that growth will resume once the restrictions on travel and tourism are removed and indicates that the airport must continue to develop.
Request for proposals
A request for proposals for an outline business case for an airport development project was posted on government’s procurement portal late last week seeking consultants to collaborate with the CIAA on the way forward.
The deadline for submissions is 22 March.
The Cayman Compass has reached out to the CIAA for more information on the airport development project, we are awaiting a response.
During the budget last year, government shared that “there are plans to establish a public-private partnership to construct a new terminal to handle private and chartered aircraft. The intention is to improve the traveller experience. The Cayman Islands Airports Authority is working on a business case.”
Case for new masterplan
A strategic outline case, issued by the Airports Development Project Steering Committee & CIAA Board of Directors dated November 2021, is included in the tender documents for the RFP and makes the case for a new masterplan for all three airports under the CIAA’s purview.
The current plan was issued and approved by Cabinet in 2014, the strategic outline case states, adding that this has been the guide for the most recent infrastructure developments completed over the last seven years.
That 2014 plan recommended a new commercial terminal with larger capacity, which was completed in 2019.
“The plan highlighted the urgency to strengthen the runway and this was completed in 2020. Other infrastructure improvements outlined in the 2014 plan have been completed, however, this plan is now considered dated and in need of replacing,” the strategic outline case stated.
It pointed out that it is common practice and is recommended that all airport masterplans should be updated or renewed every five to seven years.
However it said, “it may be argued that the Owen Roberts International Airport has seen such aggressive passenger growth year over year that a new updated plan may be needed every three years”.
Following the most recent airfield upgrade, an airfield perimeter road was created and the aircraft parking ramp was expanded to provide more space for parked aircraft. With the completion of the resurfacing, the runway is now durable enough to cope with larger aircraft, such as British Airways’ 777 jets, in the long term.
However, even with this upgrade the CIAA believes there is need and potential for further expansion.
“Although there have been major renovations to the commercial terminal completed in 2019, there are still capacity constraints. Passenger numbers in 2019 reached record numbers and leading up to the COVID pandemic, March 2020, the expectation was that 2020 would surpass 2019,” the strategic case argued, saying that Cayman is not maintaining its competitive edge over other Caribbean nations like Jamaica, Bahamas and Barbados, among others.
Those countries, it said, “have made or are in the process of making the relevant investments and incentives to position themselves for future expansion of their tourist industry”.
The 2014 masterplan, it said, identified that the numbers that were realised in 2019 “would trigger additional development of a new terminal renovation/expansion at [Charles Kirkconnell International Airport] or ORIA or the process of developing a new terminal at ORIA to support the rising passenger numbers.”
The strategic outline case said forecasted long-term growth of travel and tourism for the Cayman Islands, measured through the industry’s direct contribution to GDP, is 4.5% per annum from 2018 through 2028.
Travel and tourism contributed 25.5%, of Cayman’s GDP in 2019, a 3.5% increase over the 2018 contribution to GDP, the outline case stated.
A report, also included in the tender documents, made the case for the expansion of general aviation which is currently handed by Island Air, the Fixed-Based Operator.
“The overcrowding and lack of high-end amenities at ORIA make clear that improved GA facilities would benefit the airport both by accommodating more flights and by improving the customer experience,” the report stated.
However, it added that the financial business case is much more uncertain.
“Although economic trends show steady growth at Cayman, data on the cost of development and the cash flows created by the GA development are needed to assess the benefits and risks of GA development,” the report said.
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So is $74million the final cost of the terminal upgrade, if so this is the first we have heard of it. What was the original cost projection?.
Here is an earlier story on the cost projections and the final cost.
https://www.caymancompass.com/2021/01/27/pac-queries-airport-expansion-costs-delays/
Norma, the article referred to “around $74 million”, and it goes on to say a meeting would be held the following month regarding the final cost.The results of that meeting were as far as I’m aware never made available to the public.
PLEASE reinstate the original plan to have jetways to/from the aircrafts for embarking and disembarking. The current system harks back to a third-world system where passengers are drenched by rainstorms and have to clamber up/down stairs/ramps with luggage.
The original masterplan was not followed through; it was discarded for cost reasons. To be a truly international airport, arriving passengers shouldn’t be subjected to such an archaic system. What a terrible first impression of our country it leaves.
The airport is far too small. Passenger waiting areas should be world class, and instead people are crammed in like sardines. Why don’t we partner with a country (Canada?) that will help us build a world class airport; instead of paying local contractors world-class fees to build us a tiny little white drywall box. It is SO boring.
The newly created system for pickups & drop-offs having to use the parking lot is very helpful and efficient. I hated the idea at first, thought it was ridiculous. But having to use it for arriving and departing a few times, I realized the system works. No madness in the road directly in front of the terminal. With the increase in tourism I think they should definitely keep this system and not revert to the previous method with cars pulling in and out, double parking and taxis having to navigate around them.
No big rush on this. The way the government has “shot itself in the foot” with the tourism sector with all the post-arrival testing and enforced isolation for the visitors, it’s going to be quite a while before numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels. All you have to do is look back on all the negative comments posted here on the Compass and the government’s stubborn stance on reintroducing cruises to realize that future tourists will be traveling to other Caribbean destinations.
Can we throw in climate change, and the possible need to move the airstrip to EE, as aspects to get considered in this master plan review?
Get into the 21st Century- JetWays, JetWays, JetWays, JetWays, JetWays…….ANYBODY LISTENING ??????
We need more private commerce and many more General Aviation facilities to ring the airport, for the benefit of everyone in our Country. Government should greenlight development around all sides of the airport and encourage develop of facilities for cargo, freight and passengers. As a nation we are significantly under-served with airside facilities and can not wait a decade for growth. The airport is our bridge to the World. Let’s make it great.