MONTEGO BAY, St James — Pointing to a multimillion-dollar investment made in the development and expansion of Sangster International Airport (SIA) in St James, which has contributed tremendously to the rapid growth of the tourism industry, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang said Thursday there are no regrets about the decision taken to divest the Government-owned port 20 years ago.

Back then there were arguments for and against the planned divestment of the asset which was badly in need of upgrading. While Dr Chang supported the idea, in general, his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which was then the parliamentary Opposition, was against it.

As reported by the Jamaica Observer in 2002, the JLP had argued that it would be better for the then People’s National Party-led Government to borrow the US$200-million a Canadian-led consortium planned to spend to upgrade the airport and do the job itself.

“Eventually, it came on-stream 20 years back and I think no one will have any remorse at this point in time,” Dr Chang said Thursday during a ground-breaking and 20th anniversary celebration ceremony held at SIA.

The deputy prime minister congratulated Shane Munroe, chief executive officer of MBJ Airports Limited — operators of SIA — and his team for a job well done.

“The team has done a fantastic job. You are looking at about US$500 million that has been invested in the Montego Bay airport to ensure that we have an airport of an international standard that can accommodate our visitors here and keep the growth of the tourism industry in place,” said Dr Chang.

During the event, ground was broken for a US$18-million immigration and security expansion project and Dr Chang, who is also the national security minister, said he is particularly looking forward to its completion.

“The reality is, we are having a challenge in accommodating all our visitors,” he said.

He pointed out that the facility is needed urgently and pointed to congestion seen at the facility on Wednesday and Thursday.

“The nature of tourism is that almost all the flights want to come in between 12:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon because of the booking and the exit from the hotel. So, you find that when you come in here at 3:00, there are eight flights on the ground. You’ll find out [that] between a three-hour period up to 30 flights are trying to come into the airport. When that happens and you have five, six thousand people on the ground, then there will be a crowd. Even when we have a bigger arrival area, in any terminal, five, six thousand people at any one time will be a crowd. What we have to ensure is that we have better ease of entry,” reasoned Dr Chang.

He noted that efforts are under way to address these issues, such as the installation of six eGates which will increase the speed of movement through the airport.

In April 2003 MBJ Airports Limited was awarded a 30-year concession agreement by the Government to operate, maintain, and develop SIA.

MBJ is owned by Desarrollo De Concesiones Aeroportuarias SA (DCA), a subsidiary of Mexico-based Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), with a 74.5 per cent interest, and Canada-based Vantage Airport Group with the remaining 25.5 per cent.

Previously named Montego Bay Airport, the facility opened on February 18, 1947. It has been voted the Caribbean’s Leading Airport by the prestigious World Travel Awards for the past 13 years.