~ Says PJIAE needs to bring in Dutch Financial Advisor pending the recruitment of CFO. ~
PHILIPSBURG: --- Newly appointed CEO of Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) Brian Mingo told SMN News in an exclusive interview that while he supports the US pre-clearance for PJIAE he said the Airport simply does not have the money at this time to invest in such a project. Further Mingo said that PJIAE has to conduct more studies on the US preclearance and what benefits it could bring to St. Maarten. He said the US preclearance is indeed is a great concept, but the timing is out of whack especially since the Airport does not have the money.
Asked if he is working on getting US Pre Clearance for St. Maarten Mingo said he is working towards that, but more research needs to be done since it’s a big investment. “We cannot invest in projects such as these in a hurry because that will run us into problems.” Asked if did any type of research and if he has tangible information to show what the Return on Investment will be for St. Maarten, Mingo said there are projections as there is a report available. He made clear that he is busy doing the “quick fixes” at the Airport since he has only been there for 6 weeks. “Don’t forget that when I get the Airport Terminal fixed, I would then have a second loan of USD 100M to pay along with the existing loan. The USD 100M I am going to get now is sufficient to fix the damaged terminal building to bring it back like it was pre- IRMA along with some additional improvements.
“The US Preclearance is not included in Phase 2 of the project because we do not have the money, while more studies must be done on the retail part of this project. If we are going to channel 70% of the US passengers through another gate then I have to wonder what will happen to the other stores that will not be getting the same traffic, these other store owners will get upset because they would not be making the same money as they were in the beginning.”
Asked if the Management Team of PJIAE made a final decision on how they will proceed Mingo said he sent a proposal to the Supervisory Board informing them on what will be done with the USD 100M which he said is geared towards restoring the Terminal Building and the businesses inside of the Terminal. Mingo said that the US Pre-clearance will be included in package 3 and 4 simply because PJIAE does not have the money. He said there are 4 phases in which PJIAE will be restructured ranging from Phase 1 thru 4 he said Phase one is already completed by restoring the roof which costs USD 14. 7M and now they are busy with Phase 2 which is expected to be completed by 2020 if the funds are available. Mingo said that if the funds are not available then nothing will happen. Asked if he is aware that the Prime Minister already sent a letter to the US counterpart in July 2018 assuring them that the US preclearance has priority Mingo said that he is fully aware but one has one has to know that the US preclearance has conditions such as the US Department of Security would have to visit PJIAE and basically have to inspect the Terminal Building and see how they could fit in the plan of the US Clearance. “If the Terminal Building is not fully functional how could we have them come in for such inspection, therefore the restructuring of the Terminal Building has to be finalized before the idea of US Pre Clearance can be entertained since it’s a security issue especially since goods also will be taken to the US territory. Besides that, the price tag for US pre-clearance ranges from USD 6M to USD 8M per year.
Mingo said Aruba managed to get US clearance because it stimulated their tourism market and also combat problematic drug trafficking of the 90's he said that instead of the US stopping the drugs in their territory they stopped it in Aruba since its cheaper while boosting the tourism economy “There was a deal made back then and now there is a deal made between the Kingdom and the United States, which resulted in having the US aircraft in Curacao watching over the situation in Venezuela. "I beleive there is a probably relationship and Washington which allowed the US defence to make use of the Dutch Territories. “Government will be looking into these things when having these understandings when establishing US preclearance since it will benefit WINAIR since it opens the gateway to the US via St. Maarten, he also considered it to be a great business model for St. Maarten.
While Mingo said that more research and or studies have to be conducted SMN News understands that PJIAE already invested heavily by hiring certified companies to conduct the necessary research.
SMN News further understands that the conceptual drawing for the layout of their services and office spaces has already been approved. There is a plan is to expand towards the east of the existing terminal building to accommodate the US preclearance services. There is also a commercial plan in place, a consultant was on St. Maarten who looked at the drawings and have presented options to PJIAE on how to put in commercial strategy in place in the US preclearance area. There is a study available on possible financing and the current bondholders also expressed their desire in the past to finance the US preclearance project.
Dutch CFO and Financial Advisor.
Mingo said he never said that PJIAE should hire a CFO from the Netherlands however he said his advice is for PJIAE to bring in someone from the Netherlands with the financial capabilities as a financial advisor. Mingo said PJIAE cannot afford to wait three to four months for a CFO to be appointed because the screening process takes time and he believes that PJIAE simply cannot wait that long for a CFO. “We need someone who would work in the Finance Department of PJIAE to crunch the numbers in order for them to secure the loan. “I never said to appoint a CFO from the Netherlands I already have someone that could work with the staff to identify the liquidity problem. The financial problems at the airport were created because we have overextended ourselves with projects without having the necessary funding.”
One example is the commitment given to the contractor for the roof which in my view is an expensive roof thus placing the company in financial predicament. “If PJIAE had a good CFO in place that person would have blocked that project until the finances are secured, one option was getting the local banks involved.”
Mingo said that believes that the Prime Minister is doing a great job and people need to stop the bickering. He said one of the things the PM is doing is helping him find the money to keep the company afloat. He said people cannot be cursing out the Dutch and or the mother country that is providing St. Maarten with money, for example, the USD 15M which will be tied into the USD 100M grant. “Den Haag is willing to support me so that we can move forward.”
