The government of Jamaica received no bids for the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) concession by the submission deadline of December 30, 2015, a news release from the AAJ said recently.

According to the Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, Dr Omar Davies the government will still be pursuing the privatization of the airport. He said:

“This will not be a fire sale. There is no urgent imperative  to propel us to privatise the asset at this time."

This announcement comes after five teams were shortlisted in May 2015. The five teams were the following: Cedicor SA; Zurich Airport International and A-Port Chile; Korea Airport Corporation Latin America and GK Capital Management; China Harbour Engineering Company and daa International; and Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este, Jamaica Producers Group and GBG Energy.

The chairman of the Jamaica's Enterprise Team for the privatisation, Michael McMorris, stated that the Government had engaged in a robust bidding process, which utilised the services of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as lead advisors for the transaction, and the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) as the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Secretariat.

The winning bidder would have to complete the modernization of NMIA envisaged by Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) and improve its efficiency under a new long term concession arrangement. The existing concession contract would be terminated and replaced by a new concession contract between AAJ, as grantor, and the winning bidder.

The project involves the development, finance, operate and maintain of the airport. The GOJ's key objectives include:

• enhancing the competitive positioning of NMIA;
• increasing service quality standards and improving operational efficiency in line with international best practices;
• leveraging private sector investment to improve facilities and operations;
• monetizing the optimal value of the airport asset.

NMIA is currently operated under a 30-year concession agreement signed in 2003 between NMIA Airports Ltd., the current concessionaire, and AAJ. During the same period, AAJ also initiated a 20-year master plan to upgrade and expand NMIA. The first master plan was prepared in 2004 and was updated in 2013. To date, AAJ has invested approximately US$142 million in the upgrading of NMIA, including construction of a new departure terminal, a cargo terminal, and airside improvements.

The airport is located on the Palisadoes tombolo in outer Kingston Harbour; it fronts the city on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other. There are over 130 international flights a week that depart from the airport.