St. Maarten govt bypassed offer for airport financing | THE DAILY HERALD

 

 THE HAGUE–The Dutch government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have offered financing to the tune of US $100 million for the reconstruction of St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), but the St. Maarten government doesn’t seem very interested.

  Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops expressed his worries about the developments surrounding the airport’s recovery in a letter that he sent the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday. Along with his letter, he sent the interim report on the Trust Fund of the World Bank.

  In the five-page letter, Knops gave an update on the first progress report of the Trust Fund managed by the World Bank, the dump problem, the airport, the liquidity support of the Dutch government, technical assistance, direct support of the Netherlands, the Integrity Chamber, the strengthening of border control and law enforcement, the Pointe Blanche prison and the Dutch support for the St. Maarten Police Force.

  According to the state secretary, there is a ready-to-be-executed plan for the airport which was approved by the Steering Committee of the Trust Fund on November 5, 2018. The Steering Group did set a number of conditions that had to do with the integrity of positions in the airport’s management and supervisory board.

  Knops explained that international expertise is necessary for the reconstruction process. The Royal Schiphol Group, which manages Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, has informed the St. Maarten government that it wants to have talks on this matter.

  “US $100 million is available for this plan. Half in the form of a loan of the European Investment Bank and the other half in the form of a grant from the Trust Fund to the St. Maarten government. The St. Maarten government on its turn will loan the entire amount to the airport for the reconstruction of the damaged terminal,” stated Knops.

  “The St. Maarten government is seemingly not cooperating fully with this solution and in the meantime has had talks with other interested financiers. Financiers that will demand high interest rates and that don’t see St. Maarten’s recovery as their first interest,” stated Knops, who noted that talks to finance the airport’s reconstruction have been ongoing for months.

  “That is why on December 7, I have asked St. Maarten Prime Minister Leona Marlin-Romeo in a letter which reasons there can be not to choose the financing solution that has been developed jointly by the Netherlands, the World Bank and St. Maarten,” stated Knops.

  The World Bank confirmed the existence of a financial proposal for the reconstruction of the airport terminal in its December 2018 interim report on the Trust Fund, but is a bit more diplomatic in its wording.

  “At the request of the St. Maarten Trust Fund Steering Committee and in keeping with the Maximizing Financing for Development guiding principles set by the Netherlands, the World Bank has approached external investors, including the European Investment Bank, to co-finance this project,” it is stated in the 27-page report.

  According to the report, technical preparations are well advanced, but prior to project approval, decisions will need to be made by the St. Maarten government about the modalities for financing and governance arrangements of the airport. “Current projections indicate that financing could amount to approximately US $100 million, of which US $50 million would come from the St. Maarten Trust Fund.”

  The Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project, estimated amount US $50 million, aims to support the reconstruction of the airport terminal as proposed under the Reconstruction Plan prepared by the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company (PJIAE). It is noted in the report that PJIA serves both sides of the island and handles 1.8 million passengers and 62,144 aircrafts per year.

  The report further stated that as part of the preparation of the project, and as decided by the Trust Fund Steering Committee, the World Bank is conducting a Corporate Governance Assessment of the Princess Juliana Airport Operating and Holding Companies in December 2018. The result of this assessment is expected to inform investment decisions by the St. Maarten Trust Fund Committee.

    

 

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83766-st-maarten-govt-bypassed-offer-for-airport-financing

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