Sangster International gets boarding bridges
published: Friday | December 12, 2003

Janet Silvera, Freelance Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

THREE DAYS before the start of the winter tourist season and three
months ahead of schedule, MBJ Limited has unveiled the first of six spanking new boarding bridges at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St. James.

The bridge, which is part of phase 1A of the US$180 million five-year
modernisation exercise taking place at the airport, is slated to enhance all aspects of the Jamaican tourism sector and set the island on target with the process of international best practices. And by Christmas Eve, the Montego Bay Hub will receive five additional bridges, fully operational from gate one to six. "Both Jamaicans and others coming on Jamaican soil will be using the most modern facilities," boasted Dennis Morrison, Chairman of the Airports Authority of Jamaica.

According to Mr. Morrison, the new amenities are critical to the infrastructure required to make the Jamaican economy more competitive. "It helps the travelling public, but more critically it serves to enhance our tourism sector, which is the driving part of the economy."

The new jet bridge will make the process of deplaning and boarding more
comfortable. Passengers will no longer have to strain with their hand luggage up and down the staircases in order to enter the terminal building.

"The MBJ consortium has to date displayed every indication of its ability to contribute to the growth and the prosperity of Jamaica, through the development of one of the country's key assets," said Robert Pickersgill,
Minister of Transport and Works, as he lauded the team. He said MBJ was fully aware of the strategic importance of the Sangster International Airport. He said the group was becoming increasingly more sophisticated, demanding the best services while expecting the highest quality of customer care.

It was a happy and significant occasion for the stakeholders who spent years of hard work negotiating to secure the financial requirements of the airport, leading to the privatisation and the take-over by MBJ Limited in April 2003.

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I heard that after a breif ribbon cutting ceremony they are now operating two of them, one of which is gate four. It's really good to see that for a change they are ahead of schedule on the construction, and we will have all six operating by December 24.

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The boarding bridges forms part of a two-phase development plan for the Airport, which has been named Project one and Project two. Project one is further divided into sections one A and one B.

Section A of project one, commenced when MBJ Airports Limited took control of the Sangster International Airport in April 2003, and was scheduled to be completed in April 2004. The work involved installing the six boarding bridges, a new public address system, a modern flight display system, expansion of the arrival hall, baggage claim and ground transportation areas, and installation of a closed circuit TV System.

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Without doubt, the post September 11 period has been a difficult one for
the sector and it will take a return of economic buoyancy, especially in
the USA, to push air travel back to earlier levels. The SARS outbreak in
China and south east Asia also contributed to the downturn in air travel,
which at last is now receding.

The news of a rebound in GDP growth in the USA and the strong numbers for
the third quarter of 2003 suggests that better days are ahead. The profit figures for major US corporations are yet another signal, that if sustained, it could boost investment activity in that economy with eventual positive effects on the employment situation. As is well known, job losses and employment growth are key indicators of future consumer spending and therefore are of central importance to the travel
industry. Improvements in these respects over the coming months would provide a major fillip for Jamaica and other Caribbean tourist destinations in 2004.

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