The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
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FRIDAY,
SEPTEMBER 25, 2015
VOLUME 109, No.39
www.thevincentian.com
EC$1.50
by DAYLE DA SILVA
Operating at a loss THE GOVERNMENT has always anticipated that operations at the International Airport at Argyle, in the initial years, will not amount to a surplus. And the evidence is that the cost to run the facility and the revenue generated will just break even, during the airport’s third year of operation. Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves made the disclosures as he referred to the International Airport Development Company (IADC) commissioning of a study, to be conducted by a US based Boyd Group International, as per an operating and revenue budget for the operational phase of the international airport, for the first three
years of the facility’s operation. The report was submitted in January this year and contained a broad financial scenario for the first three years, Gonsalves explained. The information provided suggests that in the first year of operation, the total revenue will amount to EC$6.12 million, with operating cost placed at EC$10.3 million leaving a loss of EC$4.1 million. In year two, revenue is estimated to be EC$8.9 million and expenses EC$10.35 million. However, in year three of
operation, the report suggested that, while revenue will amount to EC$10.35 million, operating cost is placed at EC$10.3 million - a difference of about $60,000, the Prime Minister said. Gonsalves took the opportunity to point out, however, that for all the existing airports, that is E.T Joshua and those in the Grenadines, the annual expenditure was EC$7.33 million, with the revenue generated amounting to EC$1.4 million, which suggested a deficit of about $6 million.
Vincentians have been urged not to expect that the Argyle International Airport will generate an operating surplus during its early years of service. (Photo credit: caribbeancharisma.com) According to the Prime Minister, the government will have to subsidize the cost of operations of the airport during the early years. He said that every effort will be made to ensure that the management company that will operate the facility, will do so in the most efficient manner.
Management companies Over the past 12 months,
the government has been implementing a number of decisions relating to the overall management of the airport, Gonsalves told members of Parliament. He said one of the decisions taken was to set up a company, known as the Argyle International Airport Incorporated, to manage the passenger terminal and the other facilities at the airport. Continued on Page 3.