Barbados’ government has put a years-long, $300 million public-private partnership (PPP) management deal for Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) on indefinite hold, clearing the way for an $80 million terminal expansion project set to break ground this November, Finance Minister Ryan Straughn revealed in an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY.
The one-year expansion project, which secured final loan approval from the Caribbean Development Bank and CIBC last week when Straughn signed the funding agreement, will center on a full redesign of the airport’s passenger terminal and add four new jet bridges to upgrade passenger experience. Straughn confirmed that all legal requirements for the funding have been finalized, clearing the final hurdle for construction to get underway in earnest by November. He added that once financing is fully disbursed and construction progresses, travelers should see a vastly improved facility ready in time for the December 2025 winter travel season.
While construction will not disrupt incoming or outgoing flight operations, Straughn warned that passengers and airport workers should prepare for temporary alterations to regular routines during the build. “In the same way when you go overseas and you see construction underway, that is going to be the case here,” he explained, noting that the 12-month timeline is intentionally tight to minimize disruptions for the traveling public. “That is why we are pushing to get in and out as quickly as possible.”
The decision to pause the PPP deal, which would have handed day-to-day management of the state-owned airport to a Dubai-Chilean consortium made up of the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum and Chilean firm Agencias Universales SA, marks at least the fifth major setback for the project since negotiations first launched years ago. The most recent progress on the PPP came in July 2023, when GAIA Inc., the consortium, and the Barbados government signed a memorandum of understanding covering not just airport operations and upgrades, but also development of a hemispheric cargo hub, expanded airlift capacity, additional luxury hotel development, and job creation. A core goal of the broader PPP plan was to implement full security scanning for all passengers, workers and people transiting the airport to meet United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements for Category 1 designation.
Category 1 status, awarded under International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, confirms a country’s civil aviation authority meets all global safety regulations, allowing Barbadian air carriers to operate direct service to the U.S. and participate in code-sharing agreements with U.S. airlines. Throughout negotiations for the PPP, the Mia Mottley administration has repeatedly stressed that it will never sell the airport, and that it will protect existing jobs and employee terms and conditions under any future management agreement.