BY FAY SIMMONS
TRIBUNE Business Reporter
jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama's new international airport terminal is targeted for completion in early 2029, with construction set to start before April 2027 and the facility designed to better withstand flooding after Hurricane Dorian devastated the existing terminal.
Prime Minister Philip Davis KC, in a national address in Freeport last night, said the new terminal's concept design was due to be completed by the end of this month, while 13 airfield safety and repair packages were either under way or being contracted.
“A new international terminal is now being designed and has been under design for at least a year, with provisions for United States customs clearance,” he said.
“Its floor is designed to stand 23.5 feet above sea level, higher than the Dorian surge, under what they call the 100-year storm level used in the design. The old floor sat at 10 feet, 10-and-a-half feet.”
Mr Davis said the design is intended to provide greater protection against flooding, with a flood remediation plan also being developed.
“In 2019, Dorian's surge filled the old terminal to the roofline. After the storm, airport staff worked out of their own cars and processed passengers under tents,” he said. “The staff kept this island connected when it needed it most. Grand Bahama, I think we owe them our thanks.”
Mr Davis said construction was scheduled to begin before April 2027, with completion targeted for early 2029. The airport project forms part of a wider effort to revive Grand Bahama's economy, which Mr Davis said had struggled under a combination of hurricanes, global economic pressures and governance arrangements that he argued no longer serve the island's needs.
Alongside the airport and other major infrastructure projects, the Government is proposing island-wide economic tax breaks and concessions intended to encourage investment in East and West Grand Bahama and the surrounding cays, rather than concentrating activity within Freeport.
The airport's concept design is due to be completed by the end of October 2026. The Government has not provided the new terminal's projected construction cost.