Travellers to Cayman Brac later this year will have to put up
with construction work at Charles Kirkconnell International Airport as a
$2.5 million facelift project gets under way.
Brac
construction firm DSS Contractors has been chosen to do the preliminary
work on expansion plans designed to enhance international commercial
passenger operations at the airport in the larger of the two Sister
Islands, the Cayman Islands Airports Authority
has reported.
“The
project will accommodate a larger ticketing hall, enhanced passenger
screening and hold baggage screening facilities and the addition of
outgoing immigration counters,” said Nicholas Johnson, the airports
authority’s project manager. “The departure lounge will also be expanded
to create additional retail space and a larger restaurant. Office space
is also being created for Cayman Airways, as well as the airport’s
security unit and a VIP lounge.”
Initial work includes relocating
sewerage facilities, constructing a temporary outdoor baggage area,
creating a temporary interior baggage corridor and demolishing the
existing exterior baggage area.
Main terminal expansion work,
which is being sought to accommodate nonstop outgoing international
flights between Cayman Brac, the United States and elsewhere, is
expected to begin by the end of the year.
The airports authority
did not report cost projections in its news release. However, in late
April, the statutory authority applied to the Development Control Board,
which oversees planning matters for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, for
permission to build two additions to the airport facilities in Cayman
Brac as part of a two-phase project with an estimated cost of $2.5
million, according to board records.
The first phase would include
a 6,816-square-foot addition to the east end of the existing terminal
building, with a check-in area, restrooms, security room, baggage
screening, enlarged departure lounge and relocated cafe/bar. The second
phase would include a 4,670-square-foot addition to the west end of the
building, for a new baggage claim area. The board approved the airport
extension plans on 7 May.
Jeremy Jackson, chief executive officer
of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority, said the airports authority
was funding the expansion work, which he said he expected would be
completed next summer.
The airport in Cayman Brac is serviced
almost exclusively by national flag carrier Cayman Airways and its
wholly-owned subsidiary Cayman Airways Express.
Following a
departmental tender process, which began in August, the airports
authority reported it signed a contract with DSS Contractors on 21
September.
Mr. Johnson is said to be working with Donal McGrath of
BDCL Architects on the primary design and planning phases. Mr. Johnson
said the terminal will remain operational during all aspects of the
expansion and efforts will be made to minimise interruption to passenger
processing as the building is extended to the east.
The airports authority first announced its intentions to expand facilities in Cayman Brac in March.
In
July, Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush delivered the keynote address
during a ground-breaking ceremony at the airport, where he also
announced the renaming of the facility from Gerrard-Smith International
Airport to Charles Kirkconnell International Airport.
“This is an
important milestone in furthering the development of the tourism
industry in Cayman Brac,” Mr. Bush said. “If we are to see the Island’s
tourism industry grow, then improved airport facilities are an essential
element. The plans that have been laid for the Charles Kirkconnell
International Airport are excellent, and as premier and minister
responsible for airports, I am extremely happy that this initiative by
my government is now under way.”
Mr. Jackson said he is looking forward to the project’s conclusion next summer.
“The
expansion is being funded by the Cayman Islands Airports Authority and
will undoubtedly provide a much-needed boost to the continued economic
development of Cayman Brac,” he said.
http://www.compasscayman.com
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